Smith Set to Indict Donald Trump
The butt of the scuttle suggests that Trump is looking at charges on three counts in the Jan 6 case:
- 18 U.S.C. § 371 - Conspiracy to defraud the U.S. - When two or more people conspire either to commit any offense against the United States or to defraud the United States or any agency thereof in any manner or for any purpose.
- 18 U.S. Code § 242 - Deprivation of rights under color of law - makes it a crime for a person acting under color of any law to willfully deprive a person of a right or privilege protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States.
- 18 U.S. Code § 1512 - Tampering with a witness - prohibits tampering with witnesses, victims, or informants in a legal case, with the intent to obstruct justice. It makes it a crime to engage in actions such as intimidation, retaliation, or bribery to hinder the communication of information or cooperation with law enforcement or the judicial system.
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I'm not a lawyer, but to my layperson's brain, the first two charges feel spot on - and strong evidence of the third will likely come out at trial. The effort to overturn the election was most definitely a conspiracy in that it involved a whole bunch of people working in concert to defraud the government and thwart the express will of the people. My question there is if some members of Congress get swept up in the indictment - which could make the next few months extra spicy.
The second charge goes to the heart of what will likely be the defense of the conspirators: "Hey, we were just doing our job!"
To which, it appears, Jack Smith is saying, "Your job was to govern until Jan 20, 2020, not coup, so you could keep governing AFTER that."
The third charge - witness tampering - seems to me to be a point guard's choice to drive the lane. What I mean is that I strongly suspect that Jack Smith only added that to the list when it presented itself as an easy layup. If he came across evidence - good, quality evidence, of Trump trying to influence witnesses and figured - "Fuck it. I'm taking that to the hoop."
Again, to my non-lawyer brain, a witness tampering charge (or several witness-tampering charges) means you've most likely got the testimony of those witnesses, who will take the stand and say, "Yeah, Trump's guy called me and told me to shut up, and if I did, I'd be taken care of."
Due to the conspiracy charge, whoever "Trump's guy" is in that scenario will also be charged under the first count, and if they worked for the government - executive or legislative branch - they will also be facing charges of deprivation of rights under color of law - the second count.
Ouch.
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When you're gathering evidence from witnesses who you suspect are complicit in a crime but not the big fish you want, you always leave a tiny window open for escape. You present them with all the pressure of your case, and you squeeze for information, always letting them see that tiny escape hatch if they turn against their superiors in the crime ring.
But once you move to trial, the prosecutor's job is to seal up all those hatches and deprive the bastards who remain any hope for freedom beyond a plea deal - and that, to me, appears to be where we are.
The questions lingering:
1. Who else will be charged?
2. Will it involve members of Congress?
3. Of those eventual defendants, who will plead out before trial, and what will Smith extract as a final pound of flesh for their last-minute road to the penitentiary conversion?
This one is gonna be so much fun!
