# DOJ/Jack Smith Investigation into Trump and Election Interference, January 6th Insurrection (Re-Indicted August 27, 2024) **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [November 23, 2022, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455 "2022-11-23T20:14:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 132
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2024, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/2624 "2024-10-18T17:21:09Z")
from washington post: The appendix was released in four portions. The first portion was 723 pages and was almost entirely redacted, with the exception of a few House Committee interviews from its investigations into efforts to overturn the election results. Unredacted information from the other portions included excerpts from Vice President Mike Pence’s autobiography, a transcript of a Trump White House news briefing after the election in November 2020 and a transcript of a 2023 CNN town hall interview with the former president. finally found a link from msnbc: [Read: Jack Smith evidence document for Trump Jan. 6 case (msnbc.com)](https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/read-trump-january-6-jack-smith-evidence-document-pdf-rcna176109) the pdfs are with in the article. ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2024, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/2625 "2024-10-24T17:02:24Z")
We all KNEW he’d do this, but now he has stated it openly: > **[Trump says he’d fire Jack Smith quickly if he wins another term in office |...](https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/24/politics/donald-trump-jack-smith/index.html)** > > Donald Trump said Thursday that he would use presidential powers to end Jack Smith’s probe into multiple criminal cases he’s brought against the former president, promising to fire the special counsel who has indicted him on multiple criminal... ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2024, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/2626 "2024-10-24T18:36:03Z")
I didn’t think that was possible. I remember when Ken Starr was investigating the Clintons, he wasn’t done until he said he was done, no matter how long it took, and there was nothing anyone could do about it. Have the rules changed? ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2024, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/2627 "2024-10-24T18:43:50Z")
[**The law**](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/28/596) doesn’t support the kind of arbitrary removal that we can be sure Trump’s talking about. It has to be done by the AG, personally, and for good cause. There’s also a right of judicial review (in DC District Court) for the Special Counsel and an obligation that the AG report the details directly to ‘the division of the court’ and to Congress. “The law.” Trump. I made myself laugh there. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![DeadTreasSecretaries](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deadtreassecretaries/32/4817_2.png) [@DeadTreasSecretaries](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadTreasSecretaries)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2024, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/2628 "2024-10-24T18:51:00Z")
So AG Laura Loomer just has to pick from the grab bag of grievances to fire him and then if it gets challenged in the courts, SCOTUS likely sidesteps or upholds the firing. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2024, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/2629 "2024-10-24T19:00:18Z")
Well … the Honorable Judge Loomer _or_ … > **[Judge Aileen Cannon, who tossed Trump's classified docs case, on list of...](https://abcnews.go.com/US/judge-tossed-trumps-classified-docs-case-list-proposed/story?id=114997807)** > > A document circulated within Donald Trump's transition operation lists Judge Aileen Cannon, who tossed his classified docs case, as a possible AG candidate, sources say. But, yeah. You’ve got it. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2024, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/2630 "2024-10-24T19:10:42Z")
Well, Cannon would only be AG until there’s a SCOTUS opening. Then Loomer can step in. Wait… does Loomer have a law license? Does the AG have to be an attorney? If not, hell, make room for Rudy! ---
**Author:** ![CoolHandCox](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coolhandcox/32/16233_2.png) [@CoolHandCox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoolHandCox)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2024, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/2631 "2024-10-24T19:11:07Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > Ken Starr was investigating the Clintons, he wasn’t done until he said he was done, no matter how long it took, and there was nothing anyone could do about it. Have the rules changed? Yes, the rules have formally changed. Ken Starr was very independent. The rules that allowed that independence were scrapped a few decades back. The current rules allow quasi-independence. For simplicity, Jack works for the AG. He has more autonomy than a normal prosecutor, but less than Ken Starr did. It’s easy to imagine that Trump can _get_ Jack removed. It’ll just require some paperwork and ginning up some plausible reasons that the AG can use to do it. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2024, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/2632 "2024-10-24T19:34:18Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > Well, Cannon would only be AG until there’s a SCOTUS opening. On Glenn Kirschner’s youtube channel (can’t access YT at work for a link), he is saying that this AG list being reported by the media is enough to finally have her removed from the case. If the case does in fact get re-instated by the 11th Circuit. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2024, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/2633 "2024-10-24T20:21:47Z")
I seem to recall that in the Pentagon Papers case, the presiding judge (Matthew Byrne) was offered the Attorney General post while the trial was underway. Raised a substantial stink; but that was 1973, and this is now. (Judge Byrne dismissed the charges after some evidence that the government said it couldn’t provide turned up in John Ehrlichman’s safe.) ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2024, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/2634 "2024-10-24T21:27:20Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > Does the AG have to be an attorney? If not, hell, make room for Rudy! As far as I can tell, there are very few restrictions on any cabinet members, including the AG. The POTUS nominates them, and they have to be approved by a simple majority of the Senate. There was a law passed in 1967 also called the “Federal Anti-Nepotism statute” which would prevent the POTUS from appointing members of their immediate family to any cabinet post (which is probably the only reason why none of Trump’s kids were cabinet members) but I don’t see any other restrictions. Presumably the Senate would reject anyone nominated for the role who lacks legal expertise, but who knows anymore. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2024, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/2635 "2024-10-24T21:33:23Z")
I hadn’t heard that one, so … thanks for bringing it to my attention! NB: FBI Director, not AG [**SOURCE**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Matthew_Byrne_Jr.) [**SOURCE 2**](https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1904622/) ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2024, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/2636 "2024-10-24T22:43:32Z")
> [@CoolHandCox](#): > > It’ll just require some paperwork and ginning up some plausible reasons that the AG can use to do it. “He’s being mean to the President!” ought to work. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2024, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/2637 "2024-10-25T06:14:40Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#): > > [**The law**](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/28/596) doesn’t support the kind of arbitrary removal that we can be sure Trump’s talking about. That law [expired in 1999](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/28/599). Jack Smith is a special counsel under DOJ regulations, not an independent counsel under the old law. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2024, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/2638 "2024-10-25T11:58:48Z")
Thank you. I didn’t put enough time into that one. I’ll try to later today. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2024, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/2639 "2024-10-25T12:25:14Z")
> [@xizor](#): > > On Glenn Kirschner’s youtube channel (can’t access YT at work for a link), [Here’s that link.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3QFcNNcO7I) ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2024, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/2640 "2024-10-25T12:31:41Z")
Okay. Further investigation. The current regulations covering the Special Counsel are under 28 CFR Part 600. 600.7(d) reads: > The Special Counsel may be disciplined or removed from office only by the personal action of the Attorney General. The Attorney General may remove a Special Counsel for misconduct, dereliction of duty, incapacity, conflict of interest, or for other good cause, including violation of Departmental policies. The Attorney General shall inform the Special Counsel in writing of the specific reason for his or her removal. [**SOURCE**](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-28/chapter-VI/part-600) I’m calling this one … same horse, different jockey. The above sets forth the applicable law that Trump would need to break in order to have Smith removed. Second source: > Aside from review of particular actions, the regulations also grant the Attorney General authority to discipline or remove the special counsel. This authority may be exercised “only by the personal action of the Attorney General.” In other words, to comply with the regulations, the Attorney General himself must remove the special counsel, not the President or a surrogate (unless, as noted previously in this report, the Attorney General has recused himself in the matter under investigation). A decision to remove the special counsel must be made with “good cause,” such as misconduct, a dereliction of duty, incapacity, the existence of conflicts of interest, or violation of departmental policies. The Attorney General must report his decision to remove the special counsel, with an explanation of that decision, to both the Chairman and Ranking Members of the Judiciary Committees of Congress. [**Congressional Research Service Report**](https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R44857) ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2024, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/2641 "2024-10-25T14:10:42Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#): > > The above sets forth the applicable law that Trump would need to break in order to have Smith removed. You don’t think AG Cannon will do that for him? ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2024, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/2642 "2024-10-25T14:48:40Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > You don’t think AG Cannon will do that for him? She’d be breaking the law on his behalf. ETA: I just now realized there is a new thread devoted to this subject: > [@Can Trump fire Jack Smith?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-trump-fire-jack-smith/1009201): > > I wasn’t sure if this should be in Factual Questions or in here. It is all over the news that Trump says he would fire Jack Smith immediately if elected. Would he have the power to do that? This discussion would probably be better over there. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2024, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/2643 "2024-11-25T18:22:49Z")
Smith files to dismiss Trump’s case: > [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455.md?page=131) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455.md?page=133)