# 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:** 89
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2023, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/1762 "2023-10-28T02:33:21Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > But I do think you’re right, if Trump takes the stand he’s doing so to appeal to his people. Thank you for saying I’m right, but I fear it’s based on a misunderstanding. I don’t recall saying who Donald would be appealing to if he takes the stand. It could be his people — especially if he supposes that one or two slipped onto the jury. Or he could make more of an appeal to the median voter by taking an irrelevant-to-the-trial swipe at Bidenomics. P.S. I know you wrote “Oh, I don’t care about the voters”, but obviously I do. If Donald wants a self-pardon option, so does he. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2023, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/1763 "2023-10-28T05:44:43Z")
> [@CoolHandCox](#): > > It’s like the Depp-Heard trial x 100. If you’re a Depp fan, he did great because you saw him/his side do great (or her/her side do bad) with the video and legal commentary (by a real lawyer!) to help you understand it. And if you’re a Heard fan, the opposite. And never shall the two sides meet. Heheh, from what little I know of that trial, I was just thankful I didn’t know either of them personally. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2023, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/1764 "2023-10-28T10:21:22Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > I might be out of line here, but I think Trump might very well be a habitual liar willing to say whatever immediately comes to mind depending on his audience and what he thinks is good for him. Whoa! You’re out of line for sure, mister. I think we can all agree that Trump deserves the benefit of the doubt after all he’s done for us. You know, all that stuff… ---
**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 28, 2023, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/1765 "2023-10-28T14:17:23Z")
I really don’t have my arms around the technical aspects, but I would pay a (relatively) large sum of money for somebody to alter the courtroom lighting in a way that renders Trump’s “bronzer” shockingly phosphorescent (ie, glow-in-the dark). Think about it. I think the hypothetical GoFundMe could break records. Some industrious inside person could retire in profound opulence on a private island in the Caribbean for the rest of their life. Ahhh. ---
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/1766 "2023-10-29T07:54:57Z")
> **[Enough review – inside story of the Trump White House by star witness at...](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/oct/29/enough-by-cassidy-hutchinson-review-inside-story-trump-white-house)** > > Whistleblower and former aide Cassidy Hutchinson dishes the dirt – from crockery-based temper tantrums to sexual harassment – on the former president and his cast of underlings “Trump, she recalls, smashed plates in his dining room beside the Oval Office, squirting ketchup on the walls to express his exasperation. She observes Meadows illicitly incinerating bags of telltale documents that should have been passed to the government archives; his wife complains about the cost of dry-cleaning his suits to remove the stench from so many bonfires.” ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/1767 "2023-10-29T14:55:44Z")
Can you imagine what it must have been like for long-time White House staff to have gone from the Obamas to the Trumps? ---
**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:** [October 29, 2023, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/1768 "2023-10-29T23:36:51Z")
> **[Judge reinstates gag order in Trump election case](https://www.reuters.com/legal/judge-reinstates-gag-order-trump-election-case-2023-10-29/)** > > A federal judge on Sunday reinstated a gag order she imposed on Donald Trump in the case accusing him of trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat, denying his bid for a stay pending appeal. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2023, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/1769 "2023-10-30T01:38:10Z")
…And he’s already violated it. > ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d78d45/32.png) [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2023, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/1770 "2023-10-30T01:59:40Z")
Donald Trump’s verbal skills are limited?!??!! Absolute covfefe! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2023, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/1771 "2023-10-30T02:05:42Z")
Bill Barr is a LOSER? I forgot… Who is the LOSER of the last Presidential election? ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2023, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/1772 "2023-10-30T02:26:32Z")
It occurred to me; I wonder if Pence’s decision to stand down from the primaries is (at least in part) related to deconflicting in preparation for serving as a witness. (The other part would be, obviously, that he’s not going to win it.) ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2023, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/1773 "2023-10-30T13:09:26Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > I wonder if Pence’s decision to stand down from the primaries is (at least in part) related to deconflicting in preparation for serving as a witness. Pence knows that testifying truthfully agaisnt Trump in court is going to tank whatever support and funding he has been getting, small though it may be. I think in his prayers on the subject he came to the realization that he would stand a better chance in 2028 after a cooling down period from Trumpism and to let history show him in better light for standing up (finally) to Trump. That is, he is hoping that standing up to Trump will negate the four years he spent being an ass kissing toady. ---
**Author:** ![slicedalone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slicedalone/32/12515_2.png) [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2023, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/1774 "2023-10-30T14:05:27Z")
If there’s any word that doesn’t apply to Bill Barr, it’s “gutless.” The man definitely has a gut. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2023, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/1775 "2023-10-30T14:42:35Z")
Thanks for the belly laugh. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2023, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/1776 "2023-10-30T14:46:39Z")
That’s his bagpiping muscle! ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2023, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/1777 "2023-10-30T15:09:23Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > …And he’s already violated it. I would hope the judge brings Trump into the courtroom, puts him on the stand and explains to him (as you would to a small child) exactly what the gag order means. Ask him if he understands what she just said. Ask him to explain to her what she just said. Ask him to explain to her why he violated the gag order. Tells him in small words why he did a bad thing, and what the range of punishments are. (bonus points if at some point she asks him if he’d like a juice box or a kleenex) ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2023, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/1778 "2023-10-30T21:05:38Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > (bonus points if at some point she asks him if he’d like a juice box or a kleenex) “Five hamberders, no onion, extra ketchup.” ---
**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:** [October 30, 2023, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/1779 "2023-10-30T22:23:08Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > It occurred to me; I wonder if Pence’s decision to stand down from the primaries is (at least in part) related to deconflicting in preparation for serving as a witness. “Deconflicting”? Witnesses have no need or concerns to “deconflict” in order to provide their testimony in a case. The term has no applicable meaning in the context of a witness, so I don’t know what you’re trying to get at here. Whether Pence was still in the race or not, he is still compelled by a lawful subpoena to come testify truthfully about what he knows in a criminal case, no matter who is charged. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2023, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/1780 "2023-10-31T01:44:41Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > Witnesses have no need or concerns to “deconflict” in order to provide their testimony in a case. The term has no applicable meaning in the context of a witness, so I don’t know what you’re trying to get at here. Trump will argue that Pence is out to ruin his reputation, in order to win the election. He could point out that Pence was a part of his administration and advised him on certain appointees who might be participating as witnesses against him. Basically, he’ll argue that Pence is part of a coordinated effort to frame Trump. If Pence isn’t trying to seek higher office, then that argument falls flat since Pence doesn’t have anything to gain by Trump’s loss. ---
**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:** [October 31, 2023, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doj-jack-smith-investigation-into-trump-and-election-interference-january-6th-insurrection-re-indicted-august-27-2024/975455/1781 "2023-10-31T02:02:06Z")
Trump won’t be arguing anything at all. His lawyers will question Pence. They will be constrained by the rules of evidence. That means they have to stay within the bounds of what they can prove, not what they want to speculate about. When the time of closing arguments arrives, I’m pretty sure Trump’s lawyers will not have built a sufficient (any?) case to argue as you suggest. Trump’s lawyers would have to produce evidence of such a Pence scheme in order to make such an argument. Are you aware of any? I’m not. Trials are not free-for-alls. Judge Chutkan will run a tight ship. There will not be theatrical antics. Not in the _courtroom_, anyway. [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=88) [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=90)