What to expect as the president-elect tries to block it

Top line

President-elect Donald Trump is trying to keep special counsel Jack Smith's final report summarizing his lengthy investigations into Trump and his allies hidden from public view because the report could be released as early as this week if the courts and Attorney General Merrick Garland refuse Trump's demands. to keep it private. (Update: U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon temporarily blocked release of the report.)

Special Counsel Jack Smith delivers remarks on a newly unsealed indictment including four crimes… [+] count against former US President Donald Trump on August 1, 2023 in Washington, DC.

Getty Images Key Facts

Smith is expected to resign before Trump takes office on Jan. 20, but wrote a final report before he leaves, consistent with federal policy requiring special counsels to provide the attorney general with a confidential report explaining decisions to prosecute or deny taken by the Special Counsel, that is, why Smith decided to indict Trump for the charges he had made, and why he decided not to bring possible additional charges that were under consideration .

Smith's report will summarize his two investigations into Trump, one into the ex-president's efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the other into Trump's alleged withholding of White House documents and alleged obstruction to the government's investigation into them, after both criminal cases were dropped in Trump's wake. election.

Trump's co-defendants in the documents case, whose cases are still ongoing, asked U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon to block the release of the final report in light of their ongoing lawsuits.

Trump's lawyers sent a letter to Garland on Monday, saying that releasing the final report would be illegal and that the attorney general should either keep it private or leave it to Trump's new Justice Department.

It's unclear how much new information the report will contain, given that much of Smith's evidence against Trump has already been made public through court filings, but Trump's letter to Garland claims that the report , which his lawyers reviewed, continues Smith's attacks on Trump and includes baseless attacks on others. expected members of President Trump's new administration.

While special counsel reports are addressed to the attorney general rather than the public, under federal law, Attorney General Merrick Garland has traditionally released them, with redactions where necessary, although Smith said in a filing Tuesday in court that Garland had not yet decided whether to make the report public.

When could Jack Smith's report be released?

Smith's court filing said that if Garland decided to make the special counsels' report public, at least the case-covering volume of documents would not be released until Friday at 10 a.m. EST. It is unclear whether the volume on Smith's investigation into Trump's post-2020 election efforts would be released at the same time, or whether that portion might be released earlier. It also remains to be seen what happens in the days leading up to this, as Cannon has yet to weigh in on efforts by Trump's co-defendants to block Smith's report, and Trump's lawyers have told Garland they may seek a court order blocking the report if the attorney general does not voluntarily agree to keep it private. The Justice Department has not yet responded to a request for comment on Trump's request to Garland.

When will Jack Smith resign?

Sources cited by The New York Times in November were unclear how long Smith planned to stay at the Justice Department before ultimately leaving: Although his goal was to leave before Inauguration Day, the Times noted that these plans were always evolving and there could be unforeseen events. circumstances like last-minute court decisions that keep him there longer. Smith is trying to finish his work and leave before Jan. 20 and has no plans to linger any longer than necessary, sources familiar with Smith's plans told the Times.

What will the report say?

It's unclear what Smith's final report will say, with the special counsel only noting in a court filing Tuesday that the report would be made up of two volumes explaining the special counsels' prosecutorial decisions. That being said, Smith has already detailed in numerous court filings how prosecutors believe Trump committed crimes by leading efforts to overturn the 2020 election and allegedly hiding White House documents, which he he will probably repeat in his final report. Smith has detailed in his election filings, including a major one released in October, how prosecutors say Trump pushed claims of voter fraud after the 2020 election when he knew they were false, alleging his inner circle repeated repeatedly told Trump that his fraud claims were false and appeared to believe them himself. , telling his family: “It doesn’t matter if you won or lost the election. You have to fight like hell. He and his co-conspirators, who have not been charged, undertook a number of efforts to try to change the results, including lobbying state lawmakers and the state vice president. era, Mike Pence, and orchestrating a fake voter scheme in which Republican Party officials submitted fake voter lists. Congress, according to prosecutors. Trump also reportedly took little action to prevent his supporters from rioting on January 6, with Smith alleging that Trump watched the attack on the Capitol building unfold on television from the White House dining room while drinking coffee. Diet Coke. When an aide told him Pence needed to be moved to a secure location, Trump reportedly responded: So what? In the documents case, prosecutors allege that Trump took the White House files with him to Mar-a-Lago and then intentionally refused to turn them over to the government. Trump knowingly hid the release of classified documents in response to a government subpoena, Smith claims, by employing aides to move the documents so his lawyer could not find them. The indictment against Trump also shows that White House documents are stored throughout Mar-a-Lago, including in its ballroom, in its bedroom and near the bathroom toilet.

Will Trump retaliate against Jack Smith?

Although Smiths indicated that the planned departure would spare Trump from firing Smith, as the president-elect has pledged to do, he could still attempt to retaliate against the special counsel after he takes office. Trump previously suggested he wanted to retaliate against Smith, one of several perceived enemies Trump could target in a second term, saying in interviews before the election that he wanted Smith, who is not not an immigrant, be deported. House Judiciary Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, sent a letter to Smith on Nov. 8 asking him to preserve all records from his office that might be relevant to a congressional investigation, suggesting that the GOP lawmakers will also attempt to go after Smith in the coming months. Jack Smith's abuse of the justice system cannot go unpunished, billionaire Elon Musk, who has become one of Trump's top advisors, tweeted in response to Jordan's letter.

Key context

Garland named Smith special counsel in November 2022 to oversee the federal government's investigations into Trump, naming the third-party investigator to avoid any perception of bias as Biden and Trump were expected to face off in the presidential election. Smith then charged Trump with a total of 44 counts between the two criminal cases, marking the first time a sitting or former president had been indicted on federal charges. While both cases were scheduled to go to trial before the election, in March for the election case and in May for the documents case, Trump and his lawyers managed to drag them out. The federal election case was on hold for months while the Supreme Court considered whether Trump had immunity from criminal charges, which took until July, too late to be tried before Election Day. Cannon appeared to slow down requests in the documents case for long enough that she ended up postponing the trial indefinitely, before dropping the charges altogether. Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him and has long denounced his criminal cases as a witch hunt designed to damage his presidential campaign and denounced Smith, calling the special prosecutor a thug prejudiced against him.

Further ReadingForbesJack Smith Asks Court To Stay Trump's Election Case After Ex-Presidents Win By Alison Durkee ForbesHow All Of Trump's Criminal Cases CollapsedAs Hush Money Case Now DelayedBy Alison Durkee ForbesWhat The Decision Was Supreme Court immunity means for Trump's second term By Alison Durkee Forbes Trump Sprung: Here's Why and When His Criminal Cases Will Be Dropped or Delayed By Alison Durkee

What Are The Main Benefits Of Comparing Car Insurance Quotes Online

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 24, 2020, / Compare-autoinsurance.Org has launched a new blog post that presents the main benefits of comparing multiple car insurance quotes. For more info and free online quotes, please visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/the-advantages-of-comparing-prices-with-car-insurance-quotes-online/ The modern society has numerous technological advantages. One important advantage is the speed at which information is sent and received. With the help of the internet, the shopping habits of many persons have drastically changed. The car insurance industry hasn't remained untouched by these changes. On the internet, drivers can compare insurance prices and find out which sellers have the best offers. View photos The advantages of comparing online car insurance quotes are the following: Online quotes can be obtained from anywhere and at any time. Unlike physical insurance agencies, websites don't have a specific schedule and they are available at any time. Drivers that have busy working schedules, can compare quotes from anywhere and at any time, even at midnight. Multiple choices. Almost all insurance providers, no matter if they are well-known brands or just local insurers, have an online presence. Online quotes will allow policyholders the chance to discover multiple insurance companies and check their prices. Drivers are no longer required to get quotes from just a few known insurance companies. Also, local and regional insurers can provide lower insurance rates for the same services. Accurate insurance estimates. Online quotes can only be accurate if the customers provide accurate and real info about their car models and driving history. Lying about past driving incidents can make the price estimates to be lower, but when dealing with an insurance company lying to them is useless. Usually, insurance companies will do research about a potential customer before granting him coverage. Online quotes can be sorted easily. Although drivers are recommended to not choose a policy just based on its price, drivers can easily sort quotes by insurance price. Using brokerage websites will allow drivers to get quotes from multiple insurers, thus making the comparison faster and easier. For additional info, money-saving tips, and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ Compare-autoinsurance.Org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. "Online quotes can easily help drivers obtain better car insurance deals. All they have to do is to complete an online form with accurate and real info, then compare prices", said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing CompanyPerson for contact Name: Gurgu CPhone Number: (818) 359-3898Email: [email protected]: https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ SOURCE: Compare-autoinsurance.Org View source version on accesswire.Com:https://www.Accesswire.Com/595055/What-Are-The-Main-Benefits-Of-Comparing-Car-Insurance-Quotes-Online View photos