Special counsel Jack Smith and his team have grudgingly wrapped up their criminal cases against Donald Trump — not because they want to, or because they lack compelling evidence, but because of Justice Department guidelines related to prosecuting a sitting president. With these developments in mind, it’s tempting to think the president-elect might abandon his attacks against the prosecutor and focus his attention elsewhere.
It’s not quite working out that way.
Over the weekend, for example, the Republican argued by way of his social media platform that Smith, whom he described as “evil,” was “illegally appointed by a corrupt” Justice Department. That was, of course, a gross mischaracterization of reality, but it was part of a flurry of related online items, including a missive in which Trump claimed that Smith lost “all of his politically manufactured cases” against him. The president-elect ultimately concluded, “I won against Deranged Jack Smith!”
That, strictly speaking, wasn’t true, either. But as notable as Trump’s deceptions were, there was a related question hanging overhead: Why bother with a sudden offensive against a prosecutor who’s exiting the stage? The answer probably had something to do with the one final element of Smith’s efforts: the summary of his findings in the form of a final report.
It’s these findings that Trump wants to keep hidden from the American public. NBC News reported:
President-elect Donald Trump and his former co-defendants in the Florida classified documents case launched an effort Monday to block the release of a final report by special counsel Jack Smith that also addresses the election interference case. … Lawyers for defendants Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira filed a motion Monday night asking U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon to block Smith, who prosecuted the case, from issuing his report.
Let’s not brush too quickly past the fact that the former criminal defendants brought the matter to Cannon — a highly controversial Trump-appointed conservative judge whose handling of the Republican’s classified-documents case was widely condemned by legal experts.
Trump’s lawyers also sent a letter urging Attorney General Merrick Garland to stop Smith from releasing the report.
It’s important to emphasize that, as NBC News recently explained, the Justice Department’s special counsel regulations require Smith to file a report to the attorney general “explaining his charging decisions before he steps down.” As part of that same process, the incoming president’s legal defense team was able to review a draft copy of Smith’s report over the weekend.
Soon after, those same lawyers started scrambling to keep the special counsel’s findings hidden from public view, reinforcing impressions that Trump has something to hide. It’s difficult to say what might happen next, though The New York Times’ report noted that Team Trump appears to have “an uphill battle.” The article explained: Mr. Trump’s lawyers have no power to force Mr. Garland to stop the report from coming out, and their letter amounted to little more than a belligerent request. It is also unclear whether Judge Cannon would have the authority to tell the attorney general how to handle a report by a special counsel that he himself appointed, especially when the case is technically out of her hands and in front of an appeals court.
As for the near future, it’s also an open question what Trump might try to do after his Inauguration Day: A couple of weeks before Election Day 2024, the then-GOP candidate said he wanted Smith to be “thrown out” of the United States. Watch this space.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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