# 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:** 135
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2024, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/2684 "2024-11-26T02:22:57Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > Your weird dislike of Merrick Garland becomes weirder with every post. You have absolutely no basis to conclude as you have. > > Your distaste for Garland is based, as I understand it, on the naïve, erroneous notion that this case would or could have been tried but for Garland’s “delay” in investigating Trump. This conclusion is simply not supported by facts and demonstrates your sad lack of understanding about the law and how it works. And even if it had- so trump is convicted of a felony. he already was convicted of 34 of them, iirc. And there were shirts and signs “I am voting for the Felon”. Does anyone think 3 **5** felonies would be the tipping point? _"Oh that’s it- 34 felonies- that’s no problem, but 35! Nope, not voting for him!._ 🙄 I even asked this question in > [@Why did the Justice Department fail to protect us from Trump?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-justice-department-fail-to-protect-us-from-trump/1008944/1): > > Trump’s interference with certifying the 2020 election posed a grave threat to US stability. And his retention of classified documents seriously jeopardized US security. The Justice Department has had about three-and-a-half years in which to investigate and prosecute these two cases. Yet Trump remains free. Free to run for office again. Free to dismantle the rule of law if he wins another term. Even free to credibly threaten Justice Department officials with political persecution. Sure, if Tr… My final post- “Sure, all those are fine, but the real issue is the question I have asked and received no answer- **Again I ask 'what “protection” could the DoJ do to keep trump from running?** ” And it killed the thread. The Garland haters couldnt come up with a reply. > [@Aspenglow](#): > > Recalling how far Trump went in his first term to go after James Comey, Andrew McCabe, Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, But not much happened to them, Sure they were fired, but (for example) Strzok sued and got $1.2Million, not to mention a juicy book deal and a professorship. > [@PhillyGuy](#): > > Googling claims that grand juries indict whomever the prosecutor wants them to (“indict a ham sandwich”), I’m not finding many examples of the grand jury failing to indict when the prosecution team unambiguously wants that indictment. You wouldnt. That’s not news. But I was on one, and remember the evidence is one sided. > **[Local cold case remains unsolved after grand jury fails to indict](https://www.lafourchegazette.com/local_news/local-cold-case-remains-unsolved-after-grand-jury-fails-to-indict/article_98bd3dbc-981c-11ef-8a70-2bee2e8f6fea.html)** > > A Lafourche Parish cold case murder remains unsolved this week after a grand jury failed to indict a pair of suspects who were previously arrested in the case. _A Lafourche Parish cold case murder remains unsolved this week after a grand jury failed to indict a pair of suspects who were previously arrested in the case._ and here > **[Lincoln County grand jury fails to indict man accused of killing pregnant...](https://www.wlbt.com/video/2024/08/28/lincoln-county-grand-jury-fails-indict-man-accused-killing-pregnant-woman-brother/)** and here > **[Another Grand Jury Fails to Indict Police Officer | GW Today | The George...](https://gwtoday.gwu.edu/another-grand-jury-fails-indict-police-officer)** > > George Washington University Law School Professor Roger Fairfax analyzes decision in death of Eric Garner. There has to be evidence enough to _indict_- not convict. Lower standard. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2024, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/2685 "2024-11-26T02:54:09Z")
Re last post, in cases where the grand jury declined to indict, it is hard to know if the prosecutor may have hinted that the case was not strong. Now, I can see that happening with Jack Smith. If Bondi ordered a federal prosecutor to seek an indictment the prosecutor personally thought was unfair, the grand jurors might sense this and not indict. It would be important for Bondi to find a competent prosecutor who was also a Trump true believer. P.S. I suspect that a judge dismissing the case happens more often than a majority of the grand jury voting not to indict. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2024, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/2686 "2024-11-26T03:56:09Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > But not much happened to them, Sure they were fired, but (for example) Strzok sued and got $1.2Million, not to mention a juicy book deal and a professorship. “Not much” happened to them, eh? Their careers were ruined, as was their privacy and peace of mind. Book deals and professorships don’t do anything to make up for that. To me, it is grotesque to normalize persecution prosecutions. It strikes at the very heart of what this country was founded on. And this goes double for this statement: > [@PhillyGuy](#): > > It would be important for Bondi to find a competent prosecutor who was also a Trump true believer. Important? Try disgusting. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2024, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/2687 "2024-11-26T07:25:38Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > While I don’t have your legal experience (well, I don’t have **any** legal experience!) my thoughts were along the same lines – keep the case alive by dismissing without prejudice, in effect, postponing it. Which makes it harder (though by no means impossible) for Trump to quash it with a pardon. If Trump decided to pardon himself, wouldn’t the charges be dismissed regardless (assuming of course that the pardon is allowed to stand, which, given that the matter would probably be ultimately ruled upon by the Supreme Court, seems very likely). ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2024, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/2688 "2024-11-26T11:53:30Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > Your distaste for Garland is based, as I understand it, on the naïve, erroneous notion that this case would or could have been tried but for Garland’s “delay” in investigating Trump. This conclusion is simply not supported by facts and demonstrates your sad lack of understanding about the law and how it works. > > The facts are: This case could have been tried ahead of the election _had it not been for the unnecessary 7-month delay created by the Supreme Court on the immunity issue_. Not only did they delay their ruling till the last possible moment, but they delayed any trial further by requiring the trial court (Chutkan) to rule on each count as regards its vulnerability to the new immunity rules. This guaranteed that the case would be appealed to the SCOTUS _yet again_ for them to determine if Chutkan’s rulings got it right. I think her (and my) main complaint about Garland is he timidly did nothing for almost 2 years until he was essentially shamed into action by the January 6th hearings. Maybe all the delays wouldn’t have been an issue if Garland himself hadn’t delayed longer than all the other delays combined. Before Smith was appointed, I remember reading fairy tales posted here – possibly including by you – about how Garland was investigating all the low level Jan 6 defendents as groundwork for his case against Trump. That, of course, turned out to just be wishful thinking. Garland will _not_ be remembered fondly by history. ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2024, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/2689 "2024-11-26T15:21:39Z")
How long before Trump claims that he was completely exonerated? ---
**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:** [November 26, 2024, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/2690 "2024-11-26T16:56:21Z")
I looked, and the SOL for the crimes is 5 years. For both cases, the SOL has not expired but will soon. For Jan 6, 2021 + 5 years = Jan 6, 2026. For Docs case, lots of dates you could pick, but basically it would be around 2026 or 2027, certainly before he stops being President in 2029. Only in fantasyland is there a way to recharge him with these crimes. Or differently, there might be a theoretical argument one could make, but in no reality will it work. Assuming the SOL did not expire when the cases were dismissed, which I think the law says happened, there is just no way to toll (pause) the SOL clock at this point. There is no law to point to that says the SOL should be tolled. So you have to rely on fairness, and while it is an argument one can make and thus leaves open a theoretical possibility, it will not work and probably shouldn’t. \*\*_I saw conflicting SOL for one crime - Conspiracy to commit a federal crime (18 U.S.C. 371), it’s either 5 or 10 years. Even if it were 10, I don’t think it changes the big picture. It’s over and it ended with a whimper._ ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2024, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/2691 "2024-11-26T20:14:26Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > I think her (and my) main complaint about Garland is he timidly did nothing for almost 2 years This is simply not true, and this has been explained over and over. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2024, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/2692 "2024-11-27T00:16:28Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > I think her (and my) main complaint about Garland is he timidly did nothing for almost 2 years until he was essentially shamed into action by the January 6th hearings. Maybe all the delays wouldn’t have been an issue if Garland himself hadn’t delayed longer than all the other delays combined. > > Before Smith was appointed, I remember reading fairy tales posted here – possibly including by you – about how Garland was investigating all the low level Jan 6 defendents as groundwork for his case against Trump. That, of course, turned out to just be wishful thinking. Indeed. Aspenglow’s distaste for anyone daring to criticize Garland clearly influenced her post. If Garland had (via hiring Jack Smith or via some other prosecutor) begun proceedings against Trump a full year before he did—which he would have been abundantly justified in doing—then the Roberts Court would NOT have been able to delay the course of justice as they did. Aspenglow quite properly cites the “unnecessary 7-month delay created by the Supreme Court on the immunity issue.” What she fails to acknowledge is that if Garland had moved faster _and the case had come before the Court in the 2022-23 term, then they would not have been able to carry their obviously-strategic delay into the 2023-24 term_. The fact that they were able to issue their ruling so close to the 2024 election season was entirely due to Garland’s hesitation (which likely would have never been disturbed were it not for the House hearings). > [@DrDeth](#): > > This is simply not true, and this has been explained over and over. The “explanation” is incorrect. The pretext that ‘all the Jan 6 rioters must be processed first’ was transparently baseless. Garland could easily have started talking to Meadows and the rest of the White House witnesses months (or years) earlier than, in the event, he did. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2024, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/2693 "2024-11-27T00:23:10Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > The “explanation” is incorrect. The pretext that ‘all the Jan 6 rioters must be processed first’ was transparently baseless That was not the reason. You know, Aspenglow has explained this to you over and over. You Just.Don’t. Get. It. ---
**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:** [November 27, 2024, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/2694 "2024-11-27T01:08:33Z")
Not sure what’s been discussed previously, but Garland moved as fast as possible and there was no wasted time. Just because it might look like things are not happening, doesn’t mean things are not happening. My two cents without cites but happy to provide. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2024, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/2695 "2024-11-27T21:02:37Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > You know, Aspenglow has explained this to you over and over. As I said, the explanation is incorrect. ‘Getting it’ is irrelevant when it the so-called explanation is sense-free. The facts are the facts. It doesn’t matter how often you and Aspenglow lob personal insults. Too many well-respected legal minds see things differently than do the two of you. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/07/03/garland-trump-roberts-presidential-immunity/](https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/07/03/garland-trump-roberts-presidential-immunity/) > I notice that neither of you (nor any other ‘Garland is above criticism’ advocate) has attempted to answer the points > [@Sherrerd](#): > > if Garland had moved faster _and the case had come before the Court in the 2022-23 term, then they would not have been able to carry their obviously-strategic delay into the 2023-24 term_. The fact that they were able to issue their ruling so close to the 2024 election season was entirely due to Garland’s hesitation (which likely would have never been disturbed were it not for the House hearings). and > [@Sherrerd](#): > > The pretext that ‘all the Jan 6 rioters must be processed first’ was transparently baseless. Garland could easily have started talking to Meadows and the rest of the White House witnesses months (or years) earlier than, in the event, he did. Why do I care about Garland being held accountable for his hesitation and delays? Because it’s important that his apparent disinclination to hold a President—and his immediate circle—accountable for election interference NOT be promoted as a DOJ standard. Of course all norms are out the window until the nation rids itself of Trump and Trumpism, but it’s possible to envision a future in which a majority of Americans decide that their flirtation with fascism wasn’t what they wanted, after all. If that day comes, it will be crucial to assert the rule of law again. And doing so will include an understanding that _ **no** _ one is above the law—and that this principle must be upheld with something more than lip-service. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2024, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/2696 "2024-11-27T23:32:57Z")
Why don’t we split the difference and say however fast Trump throws Garland in jail is a good baseline for how fast Garland could have thrown Trump in jail? ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2024, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/2697 "2024-11-28T18:23:56Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > I’m seriously hoping – and I’m not joking – to see an influx of progressive, skilled, and educated Americans emigrate to Canada. I work in academia and have already started to see non-US professors refer to the American political situation as graduate student recruitment tactic. Specifically, advertisements of open positions for Master’s or PhD students are specifically pitched at US-based students who want to leave the country and/or non-US-based students who are seeking alternatives to American schools. Here’s an excerpt from one post I came across today on LinkedIn: > In the light of recent tragic results of elections in the United States, I am issuing a short statement for potential PhD course candidates, especially of non-US nationality. > > If you have obtained your Master Degree, or are in the process of finishing, and planned to continue to PhD, but are worried of the events following recent elections, and consider moving from the US to a different country, perhaps consider doing a PhD in Japan. > > If you are self-sustainable, meaning, you have sufficient means to sustain yourself financially, I can accept you for a PhD in… ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2024, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/2698 "2024-11-28T20:36:34Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > I work in academia and have already started to see non-US professors refer to the American political situation as graduate student recruitment tactic. I’d guess that other nations that have gone from democracy to autocracy have seen brain drains. (Good topic for a dissertation!) ---
**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:** [December 12, 2024, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/2699 "2024-12-12T03:55:31Z")
LegalEagle is suing the FBI & DOJ for the records regarding this case: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/caVSUaB8S3o/maxresdefault.jpg "I’m Suing the FBI & DOJ") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caVSUaB8S3o) ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/2700 "2024-12-12T13:00:45Z")
Good for him. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/2701 "2024-12-12T15:51:35Z")
He’s essentially asking for access to the henhouse after the foxes are through with it. If this case goes through, it will be after Trump takes office and delays while his minions make the (im)proper revisions. ---
**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:** [December 12, 2024, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/2702 "2024-12-12T15:57:05Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > If this case goes through, it will be after Trump takes office and delays while his minions make the (im)proper revisions. Which is why the suit isn’t just asking for the records, but also asking for the process to be expedited. ---
**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:** [January 7, 2025, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/2703 "2025-01-07T17:59:38Z")
This seems applicable here, too: > [@FBI Search and Seizure at Trump's Mar-A-Lago Residence, August 8, 2022, Case Dismissed July 15, 2024](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022-case-dismissed-july-15-2024/969329/8522): > > Washington Post: Democracy dies in darkness Trump’s attorneys: Boom, Boom. Out go the lights! Now, we wait and see what the 11th Circuit CoA does. popcorn Because … > Her brief order blocking the Justice Department on Tuesday does not distinguish between the two volumes said to be in Smith’s report – one dealing with the mishandling of classified documents probe and the other covering the investigation into 2020 election interference. Trump’s lawyers have said that the arguments against publication of the report applied to both volumes, pointing in part to the overlap in evidence. Come on, 11th Circuit Court of Appeals! [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=134) [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=136)