Bon voyage Donald Trump!
Cliché aside, the hits just keep on coming for Donald Trump. He has, of course, been indicted (his third) for trying to overturn the 2020 election. The indictment is available for reading and includes the following charges: conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights, which, when Smith spoke, refers to a conspiracy to disenfranchise voters. The trial of this case will happen in D.C., which does not bode well for Trump because it will be fair. Smith also seemed to intimate that Trump was responsible for the January 6 insurrection, though that is not an official charge.
During his press conference, Smith called the January 6 insurrection “an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy. As described in the indictment, it was fueled by lies. Lies by the Defendant.” He went on to call law enforcement on that day “heroes” and said: “they are the very best of us.” Jack Smith is not only a capable, driven officer of the court, but he is an eloquent speaker. As Smith outlined, this case relates to the DOJ’s quest to bring those “criminally responsible” for January 6, including those who egged them on, like Donald Trump.
The indictment names six co-conspirators, and we can likely guess who many of them are. In fact, the New York Times named Jeffrey Clark as the “Justice Department official” who conspired with Trump. Then, there are four attorneys and one political consultant, three of whom are likely John Eastman, Rudy Giuliani, and Sydney Powell. One of the most damning parts of the indictment relates to the fact that Trump knew he was lying about the election.
We’ve heard about witnesses Smith’s team has interviewed, who confirmed that Trump knew. The indictment calls them “prolific lies.” Most of us knew they were lies, and even though Trump and his allies knew they were lies, they continued to push them. The indictment enumerates the lies, including everything from dead people voting to voting machines being changed. Of course, Trump supporters and allies are already crying “conspiracy” once the judge who will oversee the eventual trial was assigned: Judge Tanya Chutkan.
Chutkan has overseen several of the January 6 cases, so she has experience with the subject matter. The complaints, however, revolve around her appointment to the bench by President Barack Obama. In most cases, that is irrelevant, as the three Trump-appointed judges on the Eleventh Circuit showed, but Trump’s supporters don’t want to hear that. They cannot begin to imagine that Trump will get a fair trial if Chutkan is presiding. The point they’re missing is that it’s the evidence, not the judge, that will decide Trump’s fate, as he will be tried by a jury. Besides, judges are chosen randomly. Just as Trump lucked up with Aileen Cannon, he must now deal with a judge he doesn’t want. In the end, Trump committed crimes, and like everyone else in this country, he needs to stand trial and if found guilty, he will do the time.
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years