According to special counsel Jack Smith, President-elect Donald Trump would have been convicted of illegally trying to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election – which he lost – if he had not successfully been re-elected in the 2024 election.
Jack Smith’s report detailing his team’s findings about Trump’s efforts to subvert democracy was released by the justice department early on Tuesday, January 14, 2025.
The report by Special Counsel Jack Smith said, “The admissible evidence was sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction at trial.”
Following the insurrection on January 6, 2021, Smith was appointed as Special Counsel to investigate Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
His investigation culminated in a detailed report, submitted to the Attorney General, Merrick Garland.
The 137-page document was sent to Congress after Judge Aileen Cannon cleared the way for the first of two parts of Smith’s report – on the election interference case – to be released.
Volume one of the report meticulously outlines Trump’s actions, including his efforts to pressure state officials, assemble alternate electors and encourage supporters to protest against the election results.
Smith asserted that he believed the evidence was sufficient to convict Trump in a trial if his success in the 2024 election had not made it impossible for the prosecution to continue.
“The department’s view that the Constitution prohibits the continued indictment and prosecution of a president is categorical and does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the government’s proof or the merits of the prosecution, which the office stands fully behind.
“Indeed, but for Mr Trump’s election and imminent return to the presidency, the office assessed that the admissible evidence was sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction at trial.”
Special Counsel Jack Smith
Smith also laid out the challenges he faced during the investigation, including Trump’s assertion of executive privilege to try to block witnesses from providing evidence, which forced prosecutors into sealed court battles before the case was charged.
He noted that another “significant challenge” was Trump’s “ability and willingness to use his influence and following on social media to target witnesses, courts, prosecutors,” which led prosecutors to seek a gag order to protect potential witnesses from harassment.
Volume two of the report, dealing with Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents, is under seal due to ongoing legal proceedings against Trump’s co-defendants.
A hearing is scheduled for Thursday, January 16, 2025, to determine whether it will be released to Congress or kept under seal.
Smith was appointed in 2022 to oversee the US Justice Department investigations into Trump.
Special counsels are chosen by the department in cases where there is a potential conflict of interest.
Trump was accused of illegally keeping documents and, in some cases, storing them in rooms at Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, his residence which he owns. In the interference case, he was accused of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election result.
Both cases resulted in criminal charges against Trump, who pleaded not guilty and sought to cast the prosecutions as politically motivated.
However, Smith closed the cases after Trump’s election in November, in accordance with Justice Department regulations that forbid the prosecution of a sitting President.
Trump Calls Smith’s Findings “Fake”
After the report was released, US President-elect, Donald Trump stated that Smith is “deranged”, and his findings are “fake.”
Trump and his legal team have characterized the report as a “political hit job” aimed at disrupting the presidential transition.
The President-elect takes office on January 20, 2025.
Meanwhile, the special counsel, Jack Smith, resigned from his post last week.
