The Case against the former President

I really like the way Jack Smith is framing the prosecution’s case. TPM’s David Kurtz spells it out:

In his brief 2-minute remarks at Main Justice Tuesday, Special Counsel Jack Smith placed the new indictment of former President Trump squarely in the context of the hundreds of other federal prosecutions related to the Jan. 6 attack.

Here’s the key line from Smith:

Since the attack on our Capitol, the Department of Justice has remained committed to ensuring accountability for those criminally responsible for what happened that day. This case is brought consistent with that commitment.

In tying this case directly to the Capitol attack and the other prosecutions – even though the charges against Trump don’t yet include seditious conspiracy or anything akin to incitement to riot – Smith has made this prosecution the ultimate prize as DOJ worked its way up the ladder from random rioters to Oath Keepers and Proud Boys to the White House itself.

For the federal judges in DC who have handled dozens of Jan. 6 cases each, the context is clear. Trump is the big fish. And his conduct will be judged with that broader context firmly in mind. So too will sentencing occur in the context of the hefty prison terms handed down for the worst of the rioters and the right-wing extremist groups who formed an initial vanguard for the attack.

Remember Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes has the longest prison sentence to date: 18 years. No federal judge in DC could sentence Trump without having that context firmly in their minds.