Jack Smith is making mincemeat of Donald Trump’s inner circle
The Department of Justice is serious about going after Donald Trump. The Hill reported on three key figures in the dual investigations: Alex Cannon, Christina Bobb, and Kash Patel. According to the Hill, all three play into both the documents investigation and the January 6 insurrection investigation. Alex Cannon is not discussed as much as much as Bobb and Patel.
Cannon works for the Trump Organization. He got involved in Trump’s campaign when the big lie surfaced and was tasked with “assessing voter fraud.” He then served as Trump’s liaison with the National Archives in that organization’s drive to retrieve documents that did not belong in Trump’s possession.
Bobb, of course, is one of Trump’s lawyers, and she is the attorney who signed the false certification that all documents had been returned to the National Archives, which was a lie. She took the opportunity to throw Evan Corcoran under the bus by testifying that she asked that a caveat be added to the certification, indicating that she was signing based on what she had been told rather than what she knew. People in these situations are always going to cover their own asses, and if they must take someone with them, so be it. She opened the door for Corcoran’s testimony, during which he used attorney-client privilege to say nothing. That is about to end for him, but the same can’t be said for the others.
Patel has been a loyal soldier to Trump. He was chief of staff to the Secretary of Defense while Trump was in office, and he also served as a liaison between Trump and the National Archives. He boldly claimed publicly that Trump waived a magic wand and declassified all the documents he took. Patel was ultimately granted immunity, which speaks volumes about where these investigations are heading. Obviously, Patel has something to lose, and it’s in his best interests to cooperate, since he’s not the fish they want to catch. All of this also says much about Smith’s investigations.
Smith is looking at two separate investigations that potentially carry different charges. Former U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade commented on the investigations: “I think that is a potential fruitful avenue for the Justice Department in these cases. Their overlap is very interesting, because you could use criminal exposure in one case to flip them in the other case.” McQuade is correct, and Jack Smith is likely looking at these cases from that perspective. Rather than wasting time trying to approach each separately, Smith is able to find where they intersect and use that correlation to help with both cases. That’s genius on his part. McQuade likens it to a “two-for-one sale,” which is a great metaphor.
Patel’s immunity should help gain cooperation from him, and there are still others whom Smith has subpoenaed, including former chief of staff Mark Meadows. Smith is also looking at former deputy White House counsel Pat Philbin and former White House attorney Eric Herschmann, who reportedly warned Trump of the danger of holding onto classified documents. Again, Trump did this willingly and with malice. He will ultimately pay for that decision.
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years