Special Counsel Jack Smith’s recent indictment of President Donald J. Trump regarding Jan. 6 is a slap in the face to our justice system. The indictment is a political attack masquerading as a legal filing. The Democrats are doing this because they know they cannot beat Donald Trump in a fair and square election in 2024. Justice, however, will prevail.
The charges Jack Smith brought against the president, any reasonable lawyer will tell you, do not hold up. President Trump engaged in an election contest as a candidate and as the president and stated his opinion on the matter. This is not uncommon. Democrats did the same after the 2000, 2004, and 2016 elections, wasting precious public resources in the dead-end Russiagate hoax. Arguing that Trump’s actions constitute interference with an official proceeding is illogical and frivolous. Further, it runs the risk that the statute as a whole will be stretched to the point of being unconstitutionally vague, risking future prosecutions against perhaps more deserving defendants.
President Trump was merely exercising his First Amendment rights. The First Amendment permits all citizens to petition the government for redress. President Trump was wholly within his rights to demand and ensure election laws were faithfully executed. Charging a person – a former President – for interfering with civil rights for exercising his constitutionally protected rights is incredible. Curiously, the indictment also omits President Trump’s exhortation to his supporters to stay peaceful. Again, this conduct, stretching the civil rights laws this far, creates a real risk of the statute becoming unconstitutionally vague.
Many of the charges also require a knowledge element – the knowledge or belief that the election was completely fair. Anybody without a political agenda, however, will tell you that is not the case, especially given the steady stream of evidence showing interference from various intelligence agencies and the FBI to protect Biden before the election, along with other security-related concerns. The idea that Jack Smith can prove this element is absurd.
It is also important to note that President Trump has already been acquitted of these charges. When a President supposedly exceeds the bounds of his legal authority, the remedy that the Constitution proscribes is impeachment. Notably, President Trump went through this process and was fully acquitted of all charges. Now, however, Jack Smith is attempting another bite at the apple in a more favorable jurisdiction. Jack Smith’s only chance of success was only ever going to be in Washington, D.C., where 93% of people voted for Biden.
Overall, this is a very problematic indictment. It holds little water legally and puts the constitutionality of statutes that could be important in the future at risk. Jack Smith, however, seemingly does not care. He was not appointed to be a fair prosecutor or an arbiter of truth. Instead, Attorney General Garland appointed Jack Smith because he would go after Biden’s top political opponent without regard for consequences.
It is telling that Garland has yet to appoint a special counsel to investigate Joe Biden, now that evidence he was involved in Hunter’s shady business dealings is stacking up. Further, the special counsel assigned to Biden’s own document case has done almost nothing and used minimal resources compared to the investigation into President Trump. It all boils down to Democrats not caring about the rule of law. Democrats are willing to abuse our judicial process for political gain.
We must put an end to this abuse of our judicial system. The left has made a mockery of our country because they cannot beat Donald Trump. We cannot allow it to continue. Justice must prevail, and justice will prevail.
Jared Roberts is a constitutional law attorney at Binnall Law Group. He is licensed in Virginia and Florida.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller.