A legal analyst for CNN noted over the weekend that it appears special counsel Jack Smith is attempting to bring former President Donald Trump to court as quickly as possible to face election interference charges stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot so he can potentially win a conviction before next year’s election, though his strategy could backfire on him.
“I think any fair-minded observer has to agree” that Smith wants to convict the former president beforehand, Elie Honig said when he was asked whether Smith and U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan were attempting to expedite Trump’s case.
“Just look at Jack Smith’s conduct in this case. The motivating principle behind every procedural request he’s made has been speed has been getting this trial in before the election,” Honig went on to say before giving some examples.
“The average federal conspiracy and fraud trial takes about a year and a half to two years between indictment and trial. In this case, we have dozens, hundreds of January 6th rioters caught on video, straightforward cases,” he continued. “They, too, were given about a year and a half to two years between indictment and trial. Jack Smith originally requested a trial date for Donald Trump, a far more complex case, five months out.”
“He wanted a January trial. It was set for two months later. So Donald Trump is being given far less time to prepare than other defendants. And the actions this week, Jack Smith won an argument on immunity in the district court and then went right to the Supreme Court,” Honig added.
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Last week, Chutkan put Trump’s trial on hold for the time being while the various sides attempt to get courts to determine whether he had presidential immunity at the time of the incident.
Federal prosecutors have been utilizing an obscure statute, which emerged in the wake of the Enron corruption scandal, to charge January 6 defendants with felony “obstruction of an official proceeding.” The charge has led to lengthy prison terms for hundreds of January 6 defendants, in contrast to the typically less severe charges of disorderly conduct or parading arrests.
The Supreme Court’s decision to hear cases from two January 6 defendants may determine the appropriateness of using the obscure “obstruction of an official proceeding” provision. If the court rules in favor of the defendants, it could disrupt the government’s cases against almost all other January 6 defendants and potentially impact Smith’s case against Trump.
