Attorney Reveals Reason Behind Jack Smith Delay

Florida state attorney Dave Aronberg suggested on Monday that special counsel Jack Smith might be delaying former President Donald Trump’s election interference case to keep his legal strategy concealed from Trump’s defense team.

Smith recently requested a delay for a hearing in Trump’s case to consider the implications of the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity, proposing a postponement of several weeks, which would effectively push any proceedings into September. Speaking on “Morning Joe,” Aronberg speculated that Smith might want to limit Trump’s defense team’s access to the witnesses in order to “protect” them.

“Jack Smith may not want the defense to see his cards. He may not want the defense to see the witnesses, be better prepared for the ultimate trial that’ll happen if Trump is not elected,” Aronberg said. “And so that may be part of it.”

Judge Tanya Chutkan agreed to Smith’s proposal to move the hearing initially set for August 16 to September 5. This change, detailed in a court order, also permits both parties to submit schedules for pretrial proceedings by August 30. According to two individuals with knowledge of the matter who spoke to The New York Times, Smith is also unlikely to seek a mini-trial before the November election.

Florida State Attorney Tells MSNBC Jack Smith May Be Delaying Case To Hide 'His Cards' From Trump pic.twitter.com/kFk3UQC7s3

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) August 26, 2024

“He also may want to protect his witnesses, like Mike Pence, from being harassed, from being threatened by the MAGA world. Mike Pence would have to take the stand in this mini trial,” Aronberg added. “He also may want to protect Donald Trump from having a Sixth Amendment violation, where he loses the right to a fair trial because Jack Smith has tainted the jury pool. And if that happens, then an appellate court could throw the whole thing out.”

Trump is facing four felony charges related to his alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. Initially, Judge Chutkan rejected Trump’s motion to dismiss the case based on presidential immunity on December 1. Following Trump’s appeal, the case experienced a delay of several months, which also led to the cancellation of the original trial date set for March.

“There are some people saying that Jack Smith and Merrick Garland don’t want to look political. That’s why they’re not doing this because it’s so close to the election. That’s not a good reason to avoid doing this,” he continued. “Because whether you do it or don’t, you’re going to be called political. The MAGA world’s going to say you’re weaponizing the Department of Justice. So go ahead and follow the evidence and the law and do it. Whether you decide to do it or not should not be based on politics. If you choose not to decide, you’ll still have made a choice.”