President-elect Trump further criticized Jack Smith after the Justice Department released the former special counsel’s report early Tuesday.
Attorney General Merrick Garland released the first volume of the Smith report, which focuses on the election case against Mr. Trump, late Tuesday night after an exchange in federal court. This report was released at midnight, as it was when the original hold period for Volume 1 ended. Nevertheless, the timing prompted a fierce reaction from President Trump.
“To show how desperate a deranged Jack Smith is, he released a fake finding at 1 a.m.,” Trump said, adding that an unselected committee illegally destroyed and deleted all evidence. Did he say that?” he posted on Truth Social.
Mr. Trump dismissed Mr. Smith’s report in a separate post, saying the committee was set to investigate the breach of the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters who rioted ahead of the president in July 2021. It claimed to be based on information gathered by the House of Representatives Select Committee on January 6, which was established in January. Biden will be inaugurated on January 20th. The committee’s investigation on Jan. 6 was conducted when Democrats took control of the House majority and all members were appointed by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. D-California
Justice Department releases former special counsel Jack Smith’s report on Trump’s election interference investigation
Split image featuring Attorney General Merrick Garland, President Donald Trump, and Special Counsel Jack Smith. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images | Photo by Rebecca Noble/Getty Images | Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Trump also reiterated his claim that Smith, who resigned last week, was acting on orders from President Biden to prosecute his political opponents.
“Jack is a stupid prosecutor who couldn’t get me to trial before the election I won by a landslide,” Trump wrote.
In a letter to Garland last week, Smith said it was “ridiculous” that Trump believed the Biden administration or other political actors influenced or directed his decisions as prosecutor. ” and said he was guided by federal prosecutorial principles.
“Mr. Trump’s case represented a case in which criminal conduct was committed.” [was] It is the most flagrant, the harm to the public is greatest, and the evidence is most certain,” Smith said, referring to the principles.
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Special Counsel Jack Smith recently asked that charges against President Trump alleging interference in the certification of the 2020 election be dropped. (Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Smith said in a lengthy report that his office decided to file criminal charges against Trump because he “resorted to a series of criminal efforts to maintain power” after losing the 2020 election. He said he fully supports the.
Smith said in his conclusion that once it becomes clear that Trump has won the 2024 election, the parties will decide “whether the contents of the superseding indictment qualify for presidential immunity.” He said there was. The department later ruled that the case needed to be dismissed before he took office, citing constitutional interpretation.
“The Department’s position that the Constitution prohibits continued indictment and prosecution of the President is categorical and disregards the seriousness of the crimes charged, the strength of the government’s evidence, and the merits of the prosecution. “The Department fully supports this,” the report states.
Garland appointed former Justice Department official Jack Smith as special prosecutor in November 2022.
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Former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida was raided by the FBI in 2022. (Getty Images)
Smith, a former assistant U.S. attorney and chief of the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Division, will discuss Trump’s retention of classified documents after he left the White House and whether the former president obstructed federal investigations into the matter. led the investigation.
Mr. Smith will also oversee an investigation into whether President Trump and other officials and entities obstructed the peaceful transfer of power after the 2020 presidential election, including the certification of the electoral votes on January 6, 2021. He also had a mission.
Smith indicted Trump in both cases, but Trump has maintained his innocence.
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The confidential records lawsuit was dismissed in July 2024 by Judge Eileen Cannon of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, who ruled that Smith was illegally appointed as special prosecutor.
Mr. Smith filed a 2020 election lawsuit against Mr. Trump in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., but after Mr. Trump was elected president, Mr. Smith sought to have the case dismissed. Judge Tanya Chutkan granted the request.
Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman, Emma Colton and Julia Johnson contributed to this report.
Chris Pandolfo is a breaking news reporter for Fox News Digital. Send your tips to chris.pandolfo@fox.com and follow us on Twitter @ChrisCPandolfo.
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