{"id":1988475,"date":"2023-08-02T07:14:02","date_gmt":"2023-08-02T11:14:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-could-face-death-penalty-over-charge-brought-by-jack-smith\/"},"modified":"2023-08-02T10:58:29","modified_gmt":"2023-08-02T14:58:29","slug":"trump-could-face-death-penalty-over-charge-brought-by-jack-smith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-could-face-death-penalty-over-charge-brought-by-jack-smith\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump may face death penalty for charge by Jack Smith."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftrump-could-face-death-penalty-over-charge-brought-by-jack-smith%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1988475&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Could special counsel Jack Smith be looking to \u200bhave \u2064Donald Trump put to \u200ddeath\u200d for his actions after the 2020 election?<\/h2>\n<p>After his most recent\u200d indictment against\u200b the president was\u2062 unsealed on Tuesday,\u2063 that prospect isn\u2019t as farfetched as it might sound.<\/p>\n<p>The latest raft of charges the former president faces has to do with his actions in \u200dthe \u2064days and weeks leading up \u200dto the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol incursion. The grand jury looking into the events of that day <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/breaking-grand-jury-makes-decision-trump-indictment-jan-6\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">charged him with<\/a> conspiracy to defraud the United States, obstruction\u2064 of <a title=\"Biden Admin Clearing Remaining Federal Charges Against Portland Rioters, Most Get Probation, Community Service\" href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-admin-clearing-remaining-federal-charges-against-portland-rioters-most-get-probation-community-service\/\">official proceedings<\/a>, and\u200d conspiracy\u200b against voters\u2019 rights.<\/p>\n<p>Six \u200cco-conspirators \u200dalso had their actions described in the indictment. The indictment doesn\u2019t name them\u200d directly, although <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/six-co-conspirators-described-in-trumps-2020-election-indictment-1475445d?mod=article_inline\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Wall Street Journal<\/a> notes that five of\u200c them line up neatly \u200cwith \u2064what we know about the roles played by former New\u200b York City Mayor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/ap-10-million-lawsuit-filed-rudy-giuliani-concerning-serious-allegations\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Rudy Giuliani<\/a>, \u200cTrump lawyers Kenneth Chesebro,\u200c John\u200b Eastman and Sidney Powell, and former Department of Justice official <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/former-top-doj-official-spots-something-page-3-trump-indictment-grounds-granting-motion-dismiss\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jeffrey \u2062Clark<\/a> in the aftermath of the 2020 election.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve known for a\u2062 while \u200dthat \u200csuch an indictment \u200cwas possible\u200d \u2014 if not probable \u2014 so Tuesday\u2019s\u2062 development was hardly a surprise. But the potential repercussions\u2062 from one \u200bof the charges \u200cthat Trump faces is likely to be turning some heads in \u2062the \u2064coming\u2064 days.<\/p>\n<p>As Breitbart editor Joel \u2064B. Pollak noted on social media, \u200d\u201cit\u2019s not just about \u2018jailing\u2019 Biden\u2019s opponent\u201d \u2014 at least not anymore.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Folks, it\u2019s not just about\u2063 \u201cjailing\u201d Biden\u2019s opponent.<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/0kCVH1PFie\">https:\/\/t.co\/0kCVH1PFie<\/a> via <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BreitbartNews?\">@BreitbartNews<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014\u2062 Joel Pollak (@joelpollak) \u2062 <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/joelpollak\/status\/1686535422359552000?\">August 2, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h3>One\u2063 of the charges that Trump faces is 18\u200c U.S.\u200b Code \u200c\u00a7 241, \u200cwhich\u200d states as\u2064 follows:<\/h3>\n<p>\u201cIf two or more persons conspire to injure,\u2063 oppress, threaten, or intimidate any\u200c person in any \u2064State, Territory, Commonwealth, Possession, or District in the free exercise \u200dor enjoyment of \u200cany right or privilege secured to him by the Constitution or laws of\u200c the United States, or because\u2064 of\u200d his having so exercised the\u200c same; or \u2062\u2026[i[ftwoormorepersonsgoindisguiseonthehighwayoron\u200dthe\u200bpremisesofanotherwith\u2063intenttoprevent\u2063orhinder\u200dhis\u200cfreeexerciseorenjoymentof\u200danyrightorprivilegesosecured\u2014Theyshallbefined\u200bunderthistitleorimprisonednotmorethantenyearsorboth;and\u200d<a title=\"Trump may <a href=\" href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-could-face-death-penalty-over-charge-brought-by-jack-smith\/\">face death penalty<\/a> for charge by Jack Smith.&#8221;>ifdeathresultsfromtheactscommitted\u200dinviolationofthissectionorifsuchactsincludekidnapping\u200doranattempttokidnapaggravatedsexualabuseoranattempttocommitaggravatedsexualabuseoranattemptto\u2063killtheyshall\u2063befined\u200dunder\u2062thistitleor\u200bimprisoned\u2063<strong>for any term of years or for life, \u2062or both, or may be sentenced to\u2064 death<\/strong>.\u201d\u200b [Emphasis ours.]\n<p>As Pollak noted at \u2062 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/politics\/2023\/08\/01\/jack-smith-charges-against-trump-include-potential-death-penalty\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Breitbart<\/a>, \u201cOne person\u200c \u2014 Ashli Babbitt, \u2063a \u2062rioter shot by a law enforcement officer \u2014 died as a result of the\u2064 Capitol riot on January 6, which Smith said\u200d Tuesday\u200d was the\u2062 result\u2062 of Trump\u2019s claims about the election. But\u2064 Democrats have blamed Trump for the unrelated deaths of several\u200c protesters and Capitol Police officers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDemocrats \u2014 and some of Trump\u2019s Republican opponents \u200c\u2014 have also \u2062tried to\u200b blame him \u200dfor apparent efforts by some of the rioters to \u2064kidnap then-Vice President Mike Pence, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). Smith could try to argue \u200bthe same.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Now, it is worth noting that, in the 45-page indictment, there\u2019s nothing connecting Trump to any act of so-called \u201cinsurrection\u201d \u200bon Jan.\u200b 6, \u200cas <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/donald-trump-indictment-2020-election-jack-smith-january-6-fraud-e0068c4f?mod=hp_opin_pos_1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the Journal<\/a> noted in an editorial after the charges were made public: \u201cInstead the indictment charges one \u2062obstruction \u200cand three \u200cconspiracy counts related to what it claims \u200bwas\u200b a broad effort to overturn the 2020 election\u200d based on \u2018dishonesty, fraud, and deceit,\u2019\u201d the \u200dpaper \u2062noted.<\/p>\n<p>Thus, it may\u200b be difficult to connect the former\u2062 president with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/use-force-expert-ashli-babbitt-murdered-color-authority-jan-6\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">death of Babbitt<\/a>, given that most of the \u2063charges deal with behavior before Jan. 6.<\/p>\n<p>Still,\u200b the law states \u201cif death results \u2064from the acts committed in violation of this \u2062section,\u201d then a death sentence for the defendant is on the table. Babbit\u2019s death no doubt\u2063 resulted from\u200d the incursion.<\/p>\n<p>A prosecutor creative enough to\u2064 try to criminalize the kind of political\u200b speech that\u2019s been protected by the United \u2063States Constitution since the country\u2019s founding could certainly\u200c be creative enough to push the wording of the law\u200c to \u2063its limits.<\/p>\n<p>Regardless, the other \u200bcharges also carry\u200c up to 20 years in prison, bringing a total if the terms were to\u200d run consecutively to 55 years. If \u2063Trump \u200bwere convicted\u200c of everything Jack Smith has charged\u200d him with, \u2062and all \u200dof Trump\u2019s terms were\u200d to \u2063run consecutively, he\u2019d be in prison for over half a millennium.<\/p>\n<p>Considering Trump is 77 years old, practically any of these charges \u2014 if Trump were to be\u2064 found guilty \u2064and prosecutors were\u2063 to push for the maximum \u2014 would\u200b likely \u200clead to the former president spending the rest of his\u200c natural life\u2064 behind\u200c bars.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s \u200calso worth noting that\u2064 this indictment wasn\u2019t met with as much enthusiasm as the first round of\u200c charges from\u200d Smith outside of reliably liberal corners of \u2064the\u2064 media. (The progressive website Salon, \u2062for instance, \u200ctrumpeted\u200c the news <a href=\"https:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/trump-finally-indicted-jan-6-215647637.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">with the headline<\/a>: \u201cTrump finally indicted for Jan. 6 plot: Here\u2019s\u200b why this is the\u200c big one.\u201d)<\/p>\n<p>According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/clips\/2023\/08\/01\/turley-disinformation-indictment-is-charging-trump-for-free-speech\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Breitbart<\/a>, constitutional scholar <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/liberal-scholar-jonathan-turley-blasts-impeachment-says-dems-creating-crimes-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jonathan Turley<\/a> told \u200cFox News that there was \u201cless than meets the eye in \u200cthis indictment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u200c thought \u200cthe last indictment\u2063 was a very serious threat\u200b for Donald Trump. When\u200b I take a red pen \u2064through material that is protected by the First Amendment, it reduces much of \u2063this to\u200b a haiku. Many of the things that the prosecutor is charging here [are] protected speech,\u201d Turkey\u200d said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe most \u2064jarring thing\u200c about this indictment\u200d is \u2064that\u2064 it basically just\u200d accuses \u2064him of disinformation,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a disinformation indictment.\u2062 It says that \u2063you were spreading falsehoods, that you \u200dwere\u200b undermining the integrity\u2064 of the\u2063 election. \u200dThat\u2019s all part \u2064of the First Amendment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Turley also \u200clikened the case to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/know-doj-special-counsel-terrifying\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Smith\u2019s\u200d prosecution<\/a> of former Virginia Gov. Bob\u2063 McDonnell, who was convicted of \u2064corruption in 2014 in a case that was\u200d in an 8-0 \u2062decision by the Supreme Court in 2016. (The seat of the \u200clate Justice Antonin Scalia was vacant\u2063 at the time.)<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd this reminds\u200b me of sort of \u200cthe\u2064 [McDonnell] complaint, where he\u2062 took the Virginia governor, got\u200b a conviction, and then it was unanimously \u200coverturned by the Supreme Court,\u201d Turley said. \u201cIt is a bridge too far.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Yes, even\u200b in Washington, D.C.,\u200c even with a judge who\u2019s been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/nightmare-brewing-trump-gets-assigned-judge-latest-case\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">one \u200dof the harshest<\/a> when it comes to sentencing convicted participants in the Capitol incursion, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/capitol-siege-only-on-ap-donald-trump-government-and-politics-sentencing-de394dd56b3251aac5a50014f4d6afa7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Associated Press<\/a>, the charges and the amount of \u2062time \u200cthey carry \u2063\u2014 even potentially a death penalty \u2014 may simply be too \u2064much of \u2062an ask.<\/p>\n<p>The \u200bfact the \u2064prosecutor could potentially look to \u2063ask it\u200c in the first place, however, \u2064should be disturbing enough for most Americans.<\/p>\n<p>The post\u200d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/trump-face-death-penalty-charge-brought-jack-smith\/\" rel=\"nofollow\">Trump Could Face Death Penalty Over\u2063 Charge Brought by\u200b Jack Smith<\/a> \u200dappeared first on \u200b <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\" rel=\"nofollow\">The Western \u200dJournal<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>the events that unfolded after the 2020 election. Special counsel Jack Smith&#8217;s recent indictment against Donald Trump, unsealed on Tuesday, raises the possibility of severe consequences, including the death penalty. These charges add to the growing list of legal troubles for the former president.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":663,"featured_media":1988476,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"Trump may face death penalty for charge by Jack Smith.","footnotes":""},"categories":[548],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1988475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-conservative-news-daily"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"Trump may face death penalty for charge by Jack Smith.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1988475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/663"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1988475"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1988475\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1988476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1988475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1988475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1988475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}