Legal Experts- Smith’s DESPERATE Move Violates DOJ Principles

Legal experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation that Jack Smith’s attempt to revive his case against Trump with a new indictment, following a significant setback at the Supreme Court, seems more like a political maneuver than a solid legal approach.

Smith’s superseding indictment, filed on Tuesday, included the same four original charges but removed parts that the Supreme Court determined Trump is immune from prosecution for as a former president, such as his interactions with the Department of Justice (DOJ).

The indictment was also revised to highlight the personal, rather than official, nature of Trump’s actions. With the likelihood of a trial before the election being nearly nonexistent and the case potentially reaching a definitive conclusion based on the November election results, legal experts indicated to the DCNF that Smith’s efforts are likely to be unsuccessful.

Former federal prosecutor Andrew Cherkasky told the DCNF that there is “no legitimate legal requirement” for Smith to bring the indictment so close to the election.

“You could say this indictment is potentially his swan song. The DOJ ordinarily pauses prosecutions of political candidates 60 days ahead of the election,” Cherkasky said. “If Trump is elected, Smith and his cases are undoubtedly thrown away and Smith is likely to head back to The Hague where he was before being appointed as a special prosecutor by [Attorney General Merrick] Garland.”

Cherkasky said Smith’s new indictment appears designed “to interject one more round of condemnation of President Trump in order to sway public opinion.”

“Smith is doing nothing to protect Trump’s constitutional right to a presumption of innocence, and instead, he’s a caustic interloper in the fairness of the upcoming election,” he said. “Smith’s entire prosecution is aimed at punishing those he says tried to overthrow democracy, while he himself attempts to influence the outcome of the democratic process through allegations he knows cannot be decided until years down the road.”

'This Case Is Going Nowhere': Andy McCarthy Says 'Nothing's Gonna Happen' With Jack Smith's New Trump Indictment pic.twitter.com/nObHKoLlnq

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) August 28, 2024

Former federal prosecutor Joseph Moreno told the DCNF that the new indictment was not unexpected, but he was surprised by how little it differed from the original.

“The four charges remain, with essentially some of the underlying facts stripped out and more emphasis placed on Trump’s activities as a candidate rather than as President,” he said. “This may read better, but likely suffers all the same ailments as the original, namely that not only are official acts not subject to prosecution, they are also inadmissible as evidence.”

Article III Project President Mike Davis also described the new indictment as a “last-ditch effort” to interfere in the election.

“His goal is to have an evidentiary hearing, a mini-trial, in front of DC Obama Judge Tanya Chutkan before the election on presidential immunity,” Davis said Wednesday on Real America’s Voice.