Looks like Jack Smith has his smoking gun against Donald Trump
Back when Donald Trump’s criminal defense attorney Evan Corcoran was ordered to testify against him to the DOJ grand jury, it was obviously a huge turning point in the criminal probe. Jack Smith fought hard to get the courts to order Corcoran to testify, and it pointed to that testimony being damning. Turns out it was.
We still don’t have any reporting on what Corcoran specifically said to the grand jury. But now we know what was in the accompanying notes that Corcoran was ordered to turn over. The Guardian’s Hugo Lowell is reporting that those notes included a warning from Corcoran to Trump that what he was doing with the classified documents was a crime. This means that Corcoran certainly gave the same testimony to the grand jury.
But the testimony itself isn’t necessarily the smoking gun. The smoking gun is the fact that Jack Smith has Corcoran’s notes to support Corcoran’s testimony. Smith now has proof – the kind that goes beyond any reasonable doubt argument – that Trump knew he was committing crimes.
Jack Smith has all kinds of evidence, and a number of key witnesses, against Trump. Why is this particular smoking gun so important? Trump will likely try to argue at his criminal trial that because he’s a former President who once did have legal access to classified material, he was simply confused about the process and the law. The jury won’t have to actually believe what he’s saying; it would merely need to believe that there’s some small chance he might be telling the truth. But these Corcoran notes wipe out that sliver of reasonable doubt entirely.
Let’s also keep in mind that Jack Smith obtained Evan Corcoran’s testimony and notes two months ago. So it’s interesting that this reporting is just now coming to light. Why now? What’s changed? One tidbit that comes to mind is that while the U.S. Court of Appeals did order Corcoran’s testimony and notes be given to Smith back in March, there was reporting at the time that the court wouldn’t circle back and rule on the legality of Smith using that evidence and testimony until May. Well, now it’s May. And we’re finally getting reporting about what was in those notes.
It feels like Jack Smith has indeed just gotten past a big hurdle behind the scenes. What does this mean for Jack Smith’s remaining timeframe for criminally indicting Donald Trump? I’m still not inclined to predict any specific dates. But let’s put it this way: the plane landed awhile ago. We’re at the stage where we’re waiting for the plane door to open so we can exit. That part always feels like it takes the longest. But in reality, once the plane has landed, you’re very near the end.
