With Trump's indictment, special counsel Jack Smith is just getting started: analyst
CTV
Added to the charges brought against former U.S. president Donald Trump involving classified documents is a possible second indictment based on his alleged role in the 2021 U.S. Capitol riot. The ongoing investigation into the attack has the potential to end a nearly eight-year journey that ushered in MAGA conservatism and remade the Republican party in Trump's own image, writes political analyst Eric Ham.
Special counsel Jack Smith recently made history by becoming the first federal prosecutor to ever bring formal criminal charges against a former U.S. president. Smith’s months-long investigation succinctly suggests a multi-faceted labyrinth of obfuscation and deceit.
In stunning detail after detail, the prosecutor develops a stinging narrative that, if true, could see the presidential aspirations of Donald Trump face their stiffest challenge yet – overcoming a criminal conviction. Still, as the former commander-in-chief stares down a mountain of evidence against him in the documents case, the special counsel is only just beginning.
Added to this is a potential second indictment from the special counsel, who is also investigating allegations related to Trump’s involvement in the U.S. Capitol riot after the 2020 election. The investigation, chock-full of salacious and staggering evidence so far, has the potential to stop Trump in his tracks, politically, and prompt the end of a nearly eight-year journey that ushered in MAGA conservatism and remade the Republican party in Trump's own image. Both verdicts could ultimately prove debilitating to the current GOP front-runner’s chances of retaking the White House.
In November 2022, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Smith as independent special counsel tasked with overseeing two pre-existing Department of Justice criminal investigations into Trump. The 37-count indictment satisfies the investigation into Trump's alleged mishandling of classified documents.
Meanwhile, the investigation into Trump’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol attack is still ongoing. It is unclear if or when charges are forthcoming, but based on the findings in the documents case, Smith is a dogged and relentless prosecutor who will undoubtedly reach into the depths of an investigation to uncover crimes if they exist.
Reports from The Associated Press and CNN suggest the Jan. 6 investigation is experiencing major breakthroughs. Key figures integral to the events leading up to and taking place on that fateful winter day have already met with investigators. Trump’s former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, former vice-president Mike Pence, and former senior adviser Steve Bannon, who has already been convicted of contempt charges, have all grudgingly gone on the record in the ongoing probe. Smith’s investigation appears to be moving closer to uncovering Trump’s suspected role in the events that unfolded at the U.S. Capitol.
Information from the special counsel proceedings have been scant at best. Currently, all eyes are on the charges facing Trump, and rightfully so.
