GLOVES OFF: Special Counsel lawyers say DOJ won’t baby Trump anymore
A new report seems to affirm the speculation that Jack Smith’s appointment as special counsel for the Justice Department’s investigations of Donald Trump is part of an acceleration of the DOJ probe of the former president.
Despite concerns that the efforts were previously being handled in a more delicate manner, now attorneys connected to the investigation are saying that the DOJ will “no longer pull punches” in their legal proceedings.
After a long effort to retrieve documents that the National Archives says Trump improperly removed from the White House — culminating in an FBI search of his Florida home — the DOJ is showing their frustration with his denial and foot-dragging.
They’ve been asking his legal team to make assurances that he’s turned over any and all classified materials in his possession.
Sources close to the case have shared that Judge Beryl A. Howell declined a request from the DOJ in a closed-door hearing Friday, but unless and until the court accedes to multiple requests to unseal the record, the details of that remain murky.
The DOJ wanted Trump or a representative to be required to give a sworn statement, under penalty of perjury; and sought a contempt of court ruling for the former president’s office over previous false claims that the material had been returned.
However, the DOJ’s push highlights what attorneys have indicated — they say that since Smith’s appointment, there will be no more proverbial “pulled punches” with regard to Trump and his legal issues.
“The fact that Judge Howell had been asked to mull a contempt finding suggests that the Justice Department has taken a newly aggressive stance toward Mr. Trump’s long-delayed response…Some lawyers who have worked with Mr. Smith’s team have said they were told that the Justice Department would no longer pull punches in seeking to enforce court orders or subpoenas,” The New York Times reported.
Trump, who raged on TruthSocial before Friday’s hearing, has not made any statements about the outcome, which is being described as a win for him.
However, it’s one small win in a series of hefty battles. Smith is not only handling the documents case, but the election interference investigation — in which The Washington Post reports he has just this week sent subpoenas to a long list of election officials, asking for communications from Trump and his team in 2020.
Trump’s public tantrums have addressed not only the documents, but election issues, so his small win may pale in comparison to the mountain of losses he’s potentially facing — and that’s without addressing the loss he just took, as a court determined the Trump Organization was guilty on all counts of the financial crimes that New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office alleged it had committed.
Steph Bazzle covers politics and theocracy, always aiming for a world free from extremism and authoritarianism. Follow Steph on Twitter @imjustasteph.
