Summary
Donald Trump’s lawyers are seeking to block the release of special counsel Jack Smith’s final report on two prosecutions, claiming it could harm the presidential transition and be seen as a political act.
The report is expected to include damaging details about Trump’s alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election and hide classified documents.
Trump’s legal team has requested that Attorney General Merrick Garland fire Smith and defer handling the report to Trump’s incoming attorney general.
Smith plans to resign before Trump’s inauguration, but the report’s release remains “imminent.”
So, releasing evidence of wrongdoing and criminality is a now political act?
Outing a criminal is political now. Unbelievable.
So if you’re Trump you get to steal and disclose top secret documents with impunity. But if you’re disclosing information about Trump’s wrongdoing, it’s illegal even if it’s non secret info in the public interest.
Makes me wonder what would have if Trump disclosed top secret info about his own wrong doing? Would we get a perpetual motion machine powered by Trump going in and out of prison?
Honestly this report could have rock solid evidence of treason, pedophilia, murder, drug usage/dealing and election tampering. It could have eye witness reports, links to video testimony, shit it could have trump himself admitting to doing all of these things and it would have 0 effect on the support he has.
Weirdly trump and his lawyers don’t even seem to understand this.
You’re very wrong.
All of that would increase his support.
Basically, be so criminal and make a political career out of it that you are protected from a law that was never really supposed to handle outliers like you.
Fuck Jack Smith, fuck Merrick Garland and fuck Joe Biden.
You fuckers had FOUR FUCKING YEARS and did absolutely NOTHING.
And don’t give me this shit about justice moving slowly, watch a black man get arrested for 10oz of weed and watch justice work at warp speed.
Y’all are also overlooking the judge on the case is a straight up Trump puppet. She’s probably done more to slow that case down than anyone.
They waited two years to even START investigating. This is absolutely Garland’s failure.
In desperate situations, things get leaked.
This was a desperate situation.
It should have been leaked.
I feel like it still can be. Even if it isn’t released before the inauguration, it would be great if it wound up on something similar to (and less bootlicky than) Wikileaks.
What difference would it make?
Honest grown-up reason is for history’s sake. Today’s answer is we have to chip away at him. I’ve seen a lot of threads asking former Trump voters what he did that crossed a line for them. Keep highlighting the shit he does and people will see it. It’s not the only angle of attack, but it shouldn’t be ignored.
Plus, if you remember his first term, leaks drive him up the wall (leading home to say/do more dumb shit people will hear/see). I think that’s reason enough to wait for him to be in office to leak it. Someone should anonymously send it to a respected foreign news source like Le Monde or Die Welt. Once it’s published, sources like AP and Reuters have to pick it up.
respected foreign news source like Le Monde or Die Welt
Die Welt is not or should not be respected. It belongs to Axel Springer SE, a European media corporation comparable in both reach and tone to Fox News Media in the United States.
Die Welt’s latest controversy –one among many– saw them publish an opinion piece by Elon Musk endorsing the AfD, which further legitimized the party and weakened the already debilitating cordon sanitaire around it.
In the German-speaking world, Die Welt is mocked as the “wannabe’s Bild”. Bild is a tabloid published by the same company that constantly engages in both misinformation and disinformation. Although Die Welt isn’t as blatant as its tabloid sibling, it still pushes a disingenuous narrative and should be avoided.
TBH, I pulled 2 foreign papers straight out of my butt. My point still stands: if a foreign paper, preferably in a country with strong press protections, publishes it there’s not much Trump can do beyond search for the original leaker (which would happen anyway).
I don’t disagree for history’s sake, but don’t expect it to make a damn bit of difference.
It might not make an immediate difference, but it’s a huge loss if this report never sees the light of day. It’s another tetrapod on the beach of reality. The sea of disinformation is at high tide at the moment, but maybe eventually the tide ebbs, and everything we can do to prevent erosion helps.
I welcome anything to help avoid us becoming another Russia and succumb to the nihilism of cynical hypernormalization.
Keep highlighting the shit he does …
Like what’s been going on for the last decade at least? That worked so well.
I don’t think anything short of conviction would have made a difference in the election.
Several witnesses from the documents case came forward with horribly incriminating firsthand accounts of the crimes. Even when the stories reached his supporters, they just dismissed or defended against them.
And don’t give me this shit about justice moving slowly
Yeah that was the stock response I got when I made this same argument a few weeks ago, but even Biden has now stated that the DOJ dragged their feet on prosecuting him. Waiting until after the primaries when he’d already won the nomination to file charges meant that this was doomed from the start.
I feel like Smith at least tried while he had his hands tied by the people who were supposed to make his job easier. History will not be kind to any of them though, circumstances be damned. I hope at least some of them have to live with the consequences of their own actions, but I feel very sorry indeed for the millions who had no hand in the decision.
There were thousands of people involved in the January 6th insurrection. All of them had their own cases. All of those cases had witnesses and suspects that had to be investigated. All of this had to be done while trying to build a case against the most powerful man in America. A case that would actually win against Trump, owner of judges.
At no point was this investigation not moving forward until Trump had one of his judges delay it.
This effort to demonize the people who try to convict Trump is obvious.
Bullshit, this was just a case of not wanting to convict Trump because it would set a precedent where rich and ex presidents could be held accountable. That’s why everyone dragged their feet.
Even the Jan 6th foot soldier morons where there was faaar less evidence against them got pounded by the system. Meanwhile the top asshole got to keep golfing.
The case was moving forward the entire time until Trump stopped it.
Trump has been open about how he will get revenge against people who he doesn’t like.
It seems like you’re trying to manufacturer consent for when Trump gets revenge or redirect the blame away from Trump.
Wtf are you on about? I hate Trump with a passion and he deserves to be in jail.
If the Trump legal team has viewed it, and it’s been submitted to a judge, enough people have seen this thing for an “anonymous leak” of the reports to the media.
Do it.
This is another incredible unforced error.
President-elect Donald Trump and his former co-defendants in the Florida classified documents case launched an effort Monday to block the release of a final report by special counsel Jack Smith that also addresses the election interference case.
Both cases against Trump have been dismissed.
Lawyers for defendants Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira filed a motion Monday night asking U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon to block Smith, who prosecuted the case, from issuing his report.
And
Trump’s lawyers said they reviewed a two-volume draft copy of Smith’s report at the special counsel’s office in Washington, D.C., over the weekend.
The special counsel’s office is required under Justice Department regulations to provide a confidential report to Garland, who can choose to make it public.
So the cases against Trump were dismissed. There was no pending litigation or prosecution.
And then, for god knows what reason, the Justice department let Trump’s lawyers - Trump, a private citizen, not engaged in court action any longer on the matter - review the full report. Trump’s lawyers then went crying to their pet judge, Aileen Cannon, who almost certainly will issue an unconstitutional and superfluous injunction without a case pending. That will cause appeals, which will run out the clock until Trump is president and completely kills and buries the report.
DOJ, Smith and Garland: You should have just released the report. You have no duty to Trump. Your duty is to the American people. A GOP administration would have done it and let the courts sort it out. Play just as hard - release it and let Trump fight about it in court after it’s released - he wouldn’t have at that point. You can still do it before Cannon rules, but you just squandered your ability to do this quickly and cleanly.
Edit: Cannon did exactly as expected, blocking the release of the report:
https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/06/politics/trump-smith-special-counsel-final-report/index.html
The report appears to confirm Trump’s criminal activities and also apparently that Trump’s lawyers (who are unnamed people who are going to be appointed to the DOJ) were given a courtesy viewing to allow them to litigate - completely unnecessarily:
The attorneys, two of whom have been selected by Trump for top Justice Department roles in the new administration, asked for advance notice of the report’s release so that they can “take appropriate legal action.”
In the court filings, the defense lawyers said that the government allowed them “limited-access” review of the draft over the weekend and that it “revealed a one-sided narrative arguing that the Defendants committed the crimes charged in this case.”
You’re talking as if Garland wasn’t a Republican himself.
Generally, the incoming administration has some sway on things. Normally this is meant for things like new initiatives and programs that the new administration will want to change or update. For example, imagine a sane incoming president (I know right?)
Let’s say this incoming president wants to change how subsidies to corn producers are worked through. The USDA is slated to start their version of the subsidy a few weeks before the inauguration. Instead of stopping the program, reworking it, and then re-releasing it, they put a freeze on the program so that the new administration can put their touch to it. (IMO, our lame duck period really needs to be shortened but it’s not happening so long as power is wielded)
It was never meant for this situation. So while yes Trump is technically and legally a private citizen, he also isn’t and the current administration can’t ignore that.
My guess what happened here is that Trump received the documents as President Elect, not as the defendant. President Elect often gets the same briefings as the current President. It’s just a fucking travesty that our incoming President is a fucking criminal.
Source: I worked during the Bush to Obama transition.
Great write up.
I was saying to my wife, “I’m getting really tired of playing by the rules and losing.” So I hope they release it.
Seems like a lot of people have seen it. Let’s get a leak at least.
That’s very helpful (especially with your real experience).
Yes, in theory the DOJ’s adherence to presidential transition norms may have meant they given him an early view, except that it was presented to his “lawyers” according to the article - that sounds off for a normal transitional briefing. Not sure if your experience is different?
Either way, it’s such a shame the DOJ didn’t act more strategically. Vis a vis the litigation, his status as president-elect shouldn’t matter. This was for his personal conduct, not his official acts as president (which Smith explicitly re-drafted his charges to confirm).
My experience is limited to transitions between sane presidents who, you know, didn’t have criminal investigations let alone charges against them.
Again, assuming a sane president elect, odds are they would have received a copy of the report of “a high profile individual”.
This is uncharted territory where our incoming president has committed crimes warranting a federal investigation and charges. This alone should have been disqualifying but it is looking like for the GOP, it’s now a requirement to run for office.
The conflicts of interest have reached comical levels. I personally agree with you: Biden should have restricted the sharing of the report. After all, this is all “customary”.
Democrats are helping us slide more into fascism and they can’t be bothered to stop.
As someone who knows far more than me about these things, would you agree that appointing Garland was Biden’s biggest mistake?
Biggest mistake? No.
Garland is an albatross around Obama’s neck, not Biden’s.
We’re getting into wonky territory with some heavy backseat polititing so buckle up.
Obama nominated Garland to SCOTUS to look reasonable to the Republicans. He wanted to nominate a moderate (read: Republican light) and wanted to move Senate Republicans away from the “we can’t consider judges 18 months away from an election (but will have no problem considering judges under a Republican president when the election is mere weeks away)”.
Obama wanted to take the high road and it worked for like a minute. His base was satiated that he did the best he could. Obama, behind closed doors, said that he didn’t want to fight the Republicans.
But this was contingent on Democrats winning the White House AND Senate, which the polls at the time were showing that they would.
We of course know what happened.
Fast forward four years: Biden “felt bad” for not giving Garland a fair shake and did the best he could and nominated him as AG. I mean he was a half-joke nomination for SCOTUS. He shouldn’t have even been on the short list for AG.
Anyway, not Biden’s best decision but not his worst either.
Yeah, I knew about the McConnell and co shenanigans with the Supreme Court, and I understand why Obama did what he did and why Biden offered him the job. Garland just fucked it up so unbelievably bad. Democrat highroading needs to stop right now, but they never seem to learn their lessons.
What would you consider his worst decision? Probably running for a second term (at first) and thereby not letting a primary happen right?
Probably easiest to say running for a second term.
But for me, it was caving to republican pressure to “secure the border”.
I don’t know why Democrats have such a hard time learning that the Republicans will NEVER negotiate in good faith. He gave in too much.
Garland still can. If he’s really loyal to this country, he’d release it.
Then the appeals go the other way, on whether the DoJ was really allowed to release it. But the important bit is already done.
Of Biden’s many mistakes, I think Merrick Fucking Garland was the worst.
Garland is a coward, loyal to himself/GOP
Cannon can because there are two non-dismissed cases that are referenced in the report.
The federal government is still pursuing those cases… Which is interesting, because if Trump did nothing wrong, there’s no case to pursue.
So, of course Cannon has blocked the release. At this point, Republicans win if they stall enough.
‘But trump is a member of the American population and therefore I have responsibility to him! He also just happens to be the Future POTUS and my boss! No corruption here! Checkmate Trans-Athiests!’
Just release it you spineless fucks.
Milquetoast will go down in our history as the weakest man to ever hold the AG spot and should have rotten produce thrown at him whenever he sticks his head out in public.
This does not matter anymore. They don’t have to attempt to overturn elections anymore. The elections will be Russia-style in perpetuity.
Thanks for “helping.”
Why? What’s even the point of blocking anything? Do anyone think that it will have any effect? Its very obvious by now that anybody who was able to do something about it doesn’t give a fuck. It will just be milked for headlines for a few days and then die down, without any consequence for anybody mentioned in it. Why do they even care if it’s released?
My pleading with the universe hope is that what’s in that evidence is in fact damning enough that the public would immediately call for him to actually face justice.
But again, “pleading” hope
My pleading with the universe hope is that what’s in that evidence is in fact damning enough that the public would immediately call for him to actually face justice.
Not to be negative to you or anything, but if I’ve learned anything in the past 8 years its that there is literally nothing that could reside in that document which could result in a negative reaction from those who put him in power, or any kind of consequences. Maybe if he was secretly registered Democrat somehow. That would be about it.
Trump was a registered Democrat up until 2016. I distinctly remember my boss reasoning it away after he got elected as Trump “playing both sides like any good businessman.”
Reality doesn’t matter to these fucks.
“Dead girl or live boy” wouldn’t even apply to Trump anymore. They would just dismiss it as fake news and the followers would believe it.
It won’t because it never had any effect when Mueller released his report that showed Trump & co colluded with Russia. People just took their partisan stances and claimed it was a rigged witch hunt.
What’s with all these plans. Just do it, or don’t.
What limp dicks the Justice department is when the criminal is white and right wing and ‘rich’
