{"id":2373309,"date":"2024-11-25T15:26:03","date_gmt":"2024-11-25T20:26:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/jack-smith-ending-trump-lawfare-case-proves-it-was-witch-hunt\/"},"modified":"2024-11-25T15:26:34","modified_gmt":"2024-11-25T20:26:34","slug":"jack-smith-ending-trump-lawfare-case-proves-it-was-witch-hunt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/jack-smith-ending-trump-lawfare-case-proves-it-was-witch-hunt\/","title":{"rendered":"Jack Smith Ending Trump Lawfare Case Proves It Was Witch Hunt"},"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\">22<\/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%2Fjack-smith-ending-trump-lawfare-case-proves-it-was-witch-hunt%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=2373309&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--><p>The article discusses the \u200brecent decision by Special Counsel Jack \u2062Smith to drop charges against President-elect Donald Trump in the ongoing legal case \u200bregarding the 2020 election. Smith asserted that the evidence against Trump was solid but concluded that pursuing the case would interfere with Trump\u2019s \u2062ability to lead once inaugurated. He referenced \u2063prior legal opinions which\u200c indicated \u200cthat a \u2063sitting president could not be \u2064federally indicted or prosecuted. <\/p>\n<p>The article suggests\u200d that the\u200b charges were never genuinely about\u2064 legal issues but rather used as a \u200dpolitical tool against Trump. It highlights the reaction from Trump&#8217;s team, who celebrated the dismissal as a victory for the rule of\u2064 law, claiming it was time to end the political weaponization of justice. Additionally, it mentions \u2063a delay\u2062 in sentencing related to Trump&#8217;s alleged payments to lawyer Michael Cohen, emphasizing\u2064 the political\u2064 nature \u200cof the cases against him. The author, Brianna Lyman, provides context around these legal battles and commentary on their implications.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=TDpdlw0kmBw\"> C-Span\/ YouTube <\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/11\/25\/jack-smiths-end-of-lawfare-charges-against-trump-proves-it-was-a-political-witch-hunt\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Jack%20Smith%E2%80%99s%20End%20Of%20Lawfare%20Charges%20Against%20Trump%20Proves%20It%20Was%20A%20Political%20Witch%20Hunt&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/11\/25\/jack-smiths-end-of-lawfare-charges-against-trump-proves-it-was-a-political-witch-hunt\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=Jack%20Smith%E2%80%99s%20End%20Of%20Lawfare%20Charges%20Against%20Trump%20Proves%20It%20Was%20A%20Political%20Witch%20Hunt&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/11\/25\/jack-smiths-end-of-lawfare-charges-against-trump-proves-it-was-a-political-witch-hunt\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\" https:><\/path><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/11\/25\/jack-smiths-end-of-lawfare-charges-against-trump-proves-it-was-a-political-witch-hunt\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Jack%20Smith%E2%80%99s%20End%20Of%20Lawfare%20Charges%20Against%20Trump%20Proves%20It%20Was%20A%20Political%20Witch%20Hunt&amp;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/11\/25\/jack-smiths-end-of-lawfare-charges-against-trump-proves-it-was-a-political-witch-hunt\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &amp; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>Special Counsel Jack Smith said on Monday that the evidence against now President-elect Donald Trump in the 2020 election case is rock-solid and that no one is &ldquo;above the law&rdquo; &mdash; but that he&rsquo;d nonetheless drop the charges against Trump.<\/p>\n<p>But if that&rsquo;s the case, why bail out now? Surely if Trump is really the criminal mastermind Smith alleges he is, there&rsquo;s no conscionable way he could drop the charges. The reality is that Smith knows this was never about the law. It was about leftists using lawfare to prosecute and ideally jail their political opponent.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-f8cf5c83554f8109813d4d59fa09ae4d fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-f8cf5c83554f8109813d4d59fa09ae4d\"><\/div>\n<p>&ldquo;After careful consideration, the Department has determined that OLC&rsquo;s [Office of Legal Counsel] prior opinions concerning the Constitution&rsquo;s prohibition on federal indictment and prosecution of a sitting President apply to this situation and that as a result this prosecution must be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated,&rdquo; Smith&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/25402417-jack-smith-filing-in-jan-6-trump-case\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">filing<\/a> stated.<\/p>\n<p>Smith still made sure to add a throw-away-line that the decision to drop the case did not &ldquo;turn on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the Government&rsquo;s proof, or the merits of the prosecution, which the Government stands fully behind.&rdquo; But, Smith added, the Department of Justice concluded that pursuing the case would hinder Trump&rsquo;s ability to lead.<\/p>\n<p>Trump was <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/11\/07\/democrats-must-end-their-lawfare-prosecutions-of-donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">indicted<\/a> by Smith for questioning the administration of the 2020 election. The Supreme Court torpedoed Smith&rsquo;s efforts in July when it ruled 6-3 that a president has &ldquo;absolute immunity&rdquo; for &ldquo;actions within his conclusive and preclusive constitutional authority&rdquo; and &ldquo;at least presumptive immunity&rdquo; for all &ldquo;official acts.&rdquo; The court sent several questions pertaining to the charges against Trump back to the lower court to determine whether his actions constituted an official act. Smith then <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2024\/08\/27\/read-trump-indictment-00176509\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">filed a superseding indictment<\/a> against Trump, refusing to let the case go when he thought it would hurt Trump&rsquo;s chances of winning the election.<\/p>\n<p>The Trump-Vance transition team celebrated the decision in a statement. <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-bbcbffff7d59b5edfcb3d537905a6e8e fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-bbcbffff7d59b5edfcb3d537905a6e8e\"><\/div>\n<p>&ldquo;Today&rsquo;s decision by the DOJ ends the unconstitutional federal cases against President Trump, and is a major victory for the rule of law,&rdquo; Trump communications director Steven Cheung said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/special-counsel-smith-drops-jan-6-charges-against-trump-appeal-dismissed-classified-records-case\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">statement<\/a>. &ldquo;The American People and President Trump want an immediate end to the political weaponization of our justice system and we look forward to uniting our country.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Smith isn&rsquo;t the only Democrat to admit that the lawfare was purely political. <\/p>\n<p>Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/11\/19\/alvin-bragg-is-suddenly-willing-to-postpone-his-witch-hunt-indefinitely-now-that-it-cant-keep-trump-from-becoming-president\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">agreed on Tuesday<\/a> to indefinitely delay Trump&rsquo;s sentencing in the case regarding Trump&rsquo;s alleged payments to his then-lawyer Michael Cohen. Cohen was purportedly instructed to pay pornographer Stormy Daniels to stay quiet about an alleged affair (which is not illegal). But Bragg claimed that Trump&rsquo;s payments to Cohen (which were classified as legal payments) should have been classified as campaign expenses, <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/04\/05\/alvin-braggs-trump-indictment-is-even-more-pathetic-and-partisan-than-we-could-have-imagined\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">alleging<\/a> that the payments were made to influence the 2016 election. Cohen, however, testified that Trump was <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/05\/17\/3-moments-star-witness-michael-cohen-just-undermined-braggs-get-trump-case\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">concerned<\/a> that the allegations would negatively affect his family after they first surfaced in 2011.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-5cee05e5867dccecef4a48f5aeb6c325 fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-5cee05e5867dccecef4a48f5aeb6c325\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">   Brianna Lyman is an elections correspondent at The Federalist. Brianna graduated from Fordham University with a degree in International Political Economy. Her work has been featured on Newsmax, Fox News, Fox Business and RealClearPolitics. Follow Brianna on X: @briannalyman2<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Brianna Lyman<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/briannalyman2\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@briannalyman2<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/briannalyman\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/2020-election\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">2020 Election<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/2024-presidential-election\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">2024 presidential election<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/alvin-bragg\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Alvin Bragg<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/department-of-justice\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Department of Justice<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Donald Trump<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/elections\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Elections<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/jack-smith\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Jack Smith<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/lawfare\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">lawfare<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/michael-cohen\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Michael Cohen<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/stormy-daniels\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Stormy Daniels<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Special Counsel Jack Smith stated that the evidence against President-elect Donald Trump in the 2020 election case is strong and that no one is &#8220;above the law.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":74,"featured_media":2373310,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Screenshot-2024-11-25-at-2.25.47-PM-e1732562913702-1024x576.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2373309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Screenshot-2024-11-25-at-2.25.47-PM-e1732562913702-1024x576.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2373309","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\/74"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2373309"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2373309\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2373312,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2373309\/revisions\/2373312"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2373310"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2373309"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2373309"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2373309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}