Legal analyst Gregg Jarrett, Tuesday on Fox Business, criticized what he said were special counsel Jack Smith’s Department of Justice (DOJ) violations in handling President-elect Donald Trump’s legal case.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon temporarily halted the Justice Department’s release of a report by Smith concerning investigations related to Trump. During an appearance on “The Evening Edit,” Jarrett said he applauded Cannon’s decision and accused Smith of overstepping his bounds.
“This was a correct ruling by Judge Cannon who dismissed the case against Trump months ago because Jack Smith was unlawfully appointed as special counsel. That means everything Smith did is null and void. Why therefore should an unauthorized counsel release an unauthorized report? He shouldn’t,” Jarrett said.
Jarrett then criticized what he said was the one-sided nature of the report which, he said, sought solely to try to tarnish Trump’s reputation. He also said that Smith had previously leaked substantial portions of the same allegations to the public through court filings just before the election.
“It’s totally unfair to Donald Trump to release it, a one-sided report filled with unproven accusations that only has, as you point out, one objective: to sully the incoming president. And having said that, it doesn’t really matter because Smith already leaked the very same material to the public in court papers gratuitously right before the election,” the legal analyst said.
Jarrett said that Attorney General Merrick Garland was fully aware of what’s happening and supported Smith’s actions.
“He was trying to unduly influence the election against Trump. It was a clear violation of DOJ rules. Merrick Garland didn’t care. He was all on board. Voters in the end didn’t care, but it does underscore just how conniving and malevolent Garland and Smith are. They were key players in the crooked lawfare campaign that backfired against them,” Jarrett said.
Garland appointed Smith to investigate Trump’s challenge of the 2020 election results and his handling of classified documents. Judge Cannon blocked the release of Smith’s findings until the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals decides on an emergency appeal.
“Pending resolution of the Emergency Motion filed in the Eleventh Circuit and/or any further direction from the Eleventh Circuit, Attorney General Garland, the Department of Justice, Special Counsel Smith, all of their officers, agents, and employees, and all persons acting in active concert or participation with such individuals, see Fed. R. Civ. P. 65(d)(2), are TEMPORARILY ENJOINED from (a) releasing, sharing, or transmitting the Final Report or any drafts of such Report outside the Department of Justice, or (b) otherwise releasing, distributing, conveying, or sharing with anyone outside the Department of Justice any information or conclusions in the Final Report or in drafts thereof,” Cannon wrote in the ruling Monday.
Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, co-defendants in the classified documents case, contended in the filing that Smith lacked the legal authority to draft the report, according to Just the News. Additionally, in a Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas said he was unsure about the constitutional legality of appointing a private citizen as special counsel, questioning if the position had been legally established as required.
(Featured Image Media Credit: Screenshot/Fox Business)
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