Had Donald Trump actually faced a trial over the charges related to the Jan. 6 insurrection, he would have been convicted, Special Counsel Jack Smith said in his final report on the matter, submitted to Congress late Monday night (early Tuesday on the East Coast).
In fact, in the report, published Monday night by the New York Times, DoJ lawyers argue it is only because Trump was reelected president that he escaped justice for his attempts to illegally and then violently overturn the 2020 election.
“The department’s view that the Constitution prohibits the continued indictment and prosecution of a president is categorical and does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the government’s proof or the merits of the prosecution, which the office stands fully behind,” the 187-page report read.
“Indeed, but for Mr. Trump’s election and imminent return to the presidency, the office assessed that the admissible evidence was sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction at trial,” Smith’s report continued.
Though the contents of the report about the election interference case against Trump have been released, the details of the investigation against him for mishandling classified documents are being kept secret — for now.
The report won’t change anything in the short term and is unlikely to have any long term impact, barring any retributive actions Trump may take. Due to the justice department under Merrick Garland, according to the Washington Post, actively resisting going after Trump for nearly two years, the incoming president was afforded time to mount a defense that, among other things, resulted in the disturbing Supreme Court decision granting presidents almost kingly power under ill-defined circumstances.
Trump v. U.S., which invented the previously nonexistent idea of unaccountable executive power, was vague, merely stating that “official acts” are shielded from criminal liability without defining what does and does not count. As such, when he resumes office, Trump may be able to take actions making any future investigation impossible, with the likely assurance of immunity from a friendly, Republican-majority court that features three justices he appointed.
Nevertheless, the overwhelming evidence of the president-elect’s activities after the 2020 election is now public.
