DOJ/Jack Smith Investigation into Trump and Election Interference, January 6th Insurrection (Re-Indicted August 27, 2024)

Generating a specific number of votes is, clearly, not an official act of the President. Ordering more investigations, yes it is. Was Trump asking for votes or was he asking for investigations and just “making the jokes” while doing so?

The trial judge will need to show that they considered the question and then, either, determined that the President was clearly asking for votes and so the information is fit to be included in the trial; that they’re not confident, and the jury will need to take a note about Presidential immunity and consider that as part of considering the evidence; or the trial judge could decide that the information must be excluded from the trial. Personally, I’d guess that it will be the first or second option for that particular tidbit and that either decision would be liable to survive review.

But there’s no harm in documenting the decision and building a case history for future Presidential prosecutions.

Crossing t’s and dotting i’s doesn’t give you different text at the end of the day, it just gives you a result that is harder for anyone to complain about.