No one was shocked when Attorney General Merrick Garland named Jack Smith as a special prosecutor to investigate allegations. Against former President Donald Trump.
You might believe that you have already seen this movie. Though no charges brought against anyone. Due to the Robert Mueller investigation, there is little reason to think that Trump will repeat it.
This time, charges are more likely, though there is no assurance they will be upheld.
Recall how concerned we were about whether Mueller would be terminated. And recall how, before the publication of Mueller’s report, then-Attorney General William Barr distorted its findings?
Barr is not Garland. He will respect the independence of the special counsel. If Smith believed that prosecution would be inappropriate, He would find it very difficult to insist on it. And it would be incredible if he refused to let Smith file the charges.
Either method of defying the special prosecutor would decide to bring political charges. Restoration of the department to its historical (and desirable) nonpartisan status has been Garland’s primary focus at the Justice Department.
By all accounts, Smith is a nonpartisan, straight shooter. He won’t be afraid to accuse Trump of federal crimes if the evidence warrants it. That is unfortunate for Trump. Because it already appears, there is sufficient evidence for criminal charges concerning the secret papers Trump brought to Mar-a-Lago from the White House.
While he is running for office, Trump might argue that the courts should suppress criminal charges against him. (If elected and sworn in, he could drop the federal charges brought against him.) Even though the justices might agree with that claim, no Supreme Court precedent would unquestionably support Trump’s position. The court never rules that a sitting president, much less a candidate, cannot prosecute.
He would have to address concerns about candidates in addition to how the court has historically weighed the advantages and disadvantages of civil lawsuits and subpoenas against a president in office.
Trump’s most substantial justification would be that it would be detrimental to democracy for the president to be able to order the prosecution of one of his most important rivals.
Run the thought experiment of imagining how you would have felt. If Joe Biden accuses of a crime during his bid for the presidency in 2020. Say for conspiring with his son Hunter about Ukraine, to see why this isn’t absurd. Even though the accusation can be unfound. It is very challenging for Biden to run for office and defend himself from a criminal charge. Indeed, there’s no doubt that the mere possibility of criminal charges would have hurt Biden’s chances with some swing voters.
The Supreme Court’s repeated insistence that even the president is not above the law is on the opposing side of the debate. The New York County District Attorney’s office subpoenaed Trump’s financial records. At the same time, he was president, and Richard Nixon was the subject of a criminal investigation and subpoenas during his tenure as president.
A presidential candidate shouldn’t be above the law if the president isn’t. Additionally, a candidate who is found guilty and sentence to prison is still eligible to run. Eugene V. Debs, a Socialist who ran for office in 1904, 1908, and 1912, ran for office again in 1920. This time from a federal prison following his 1918 conviction under the Espionage Act. For offenses now regarded as First Amendment violations. Debs received nearly a million votes in 1920, or 3.4% of the total ballots cast.
The Supreme Court’s conservative majority is much more committed to its jurisprudential philosophy than Trump. It’s improbable that it would take action to shield Trump from prosecution for any reason duty to him, particularly if another Republican contender like Ron DeSantis became a strong contender.
However, the conservative justices will seriously consider the worry that a president might indict the front-runner. If Trump is in the lead, it’s conceivable that the charges can drop. Pending a thorough review by the court. This could allow Trump to run without having to defend himself in court. By delaying the criminal process for a sufficient amount of time.
Also, please don’t rule out a surprise along the way: Trump could produce a piece of paper and claim that he secretly pardoned himself while in office to avoid prosecution.