{"id":4038,"date":"2026-07-28T14:36:42","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T14:36:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4038"},"modified":"2026-07-28T14:36:42","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T14:36:42","slug":"the-simple-reason-jack-smith-charges-wont-stick-as-easy-as-trump-thinks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4038","title":{"rendered":"The simple reason Jack Smith charges won\u2019t stick as easy as Trump thinks"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

President Donald Trump\u2019s latest effort to weaponize the Department of Justice against his enemies will fail for a simple reason: geography. This is according to former federal prosecutors, who told NBC News<\/u> that Trump\u2019s attempt to prosecute ex-special counsel Jack Smith will almost certainly meet the same fate as the president\u2019s other recent lawfare endeavors. As one lawmaker characterized the likely outcome, \u201cIt will get laughed out of court.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Trump\u2019s biggest backers fear he is walking into \u2018a disaster\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

As NBC News explains, \u201cTrump has made no secret that he thinks former special counsel Jack Smith should be prosecuted, but his administration would be likely to have a tough time pursuing the charges a top Republican in Congress recommended last week.\u201d Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH), a staunch Trump ally, advised that Smith be prosecuted for allegedly misleading Congress regarding the investigation into Trump\u2019s attempt to overturn the 2020 election. But according to several former federal prosecutors, Smith will likely be saved by two things. <\/p>\n

First, it\u2019s a matter of location. \u201cThe Sixth Amendment requires criminal prosecutions to be brought in the jurisdictions where the crimes were committed,\u201d explains NBC. \u201cBecause Smith testified in person in Washington, several former prosecutors said, the charges would need to be brought in Washington.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t see a way this could be charged elsewhere,\u201d Mike Romano, a former attorney in the Justice Department\u2019s Public Integrity Section, said of any potential attempt to charge Smith over the testimony. \u201cIt happened in D.C. when he testified at Congress; it would have to be charged in D.C.\u201d<\/p>\n

In D.C., however, \u201cgrand jurors have previously rejected novel cases against people Trump wants imprisoned.\u201d Grand juries are comprised of local residents, and in D.C., Trump secured a mere 6 percent of the vote in 2024. Because of this, the city\u2019s jurors \u201chave generally stood as a bulwark against some of the administration\u2019s most aggressive maneuvers, including a failed effort by allies of Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia<\/u>, to indict six sitting members of Congress over a social media video<\/u> back in February. While most federal grand juries often act as rubber stamps for assistant U.S. attorneys and almost always find the prosecutors have met the low threshold of probable cause, D.C. grand juries have pushed back against cases in Trump\u2019s second term, including declining last summer to indict a man on a felony charge<\/u> for tossing a Subway sandwich at an officer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more \u2018Narcissist\u2019 Trump proves he\u2019s \u2018hearing the footsteps of the Grim Reaper\u2019: analyst<\/a><\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, says Gregory P. Rosen, a former supervisor in the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office for the District of Columbia, the case against Smith is unlikely to succeed simply because there is a \u201chigh bar to prosecute.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEven if you could get a charge to technically clear the bar, any competent prosecutor still has to ask the threshold question: Is this worth bringing? Is the juice worth the squeeze?\u201d Rosen said. \u201cI have a hard time \u2014 to say it mildly \u2014 seeing how this gets past a grand jury, let alone in front of a jury that has to find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.\u201d<\/p>\n

He does note, however, that good-faith prosecution may not be the point, explaining, \u201cWhat the administration has done so far has been to bring weak cases that nonetheless make a splash in the news, suggest that there is some wrongdoing by people and create a real drain on people\u2019s time and money and resources to have to defend themselves. That\u2019s not how the criminal justice system is supposed to work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Representative Jamie Raskin (D-MD) seconded this assessment, saying, \u201cThis referral, if ever brought before a judge, will get laughed out of court. But success on the merits is not the goal. It is meant to harass Jack Smith. It is meant to please their Fox News viewership. It is meant to whitewash their own participation in a scheme to overthrow our elections.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Ex-deputy PM exposes what Trump\u2019s \u2018irrational\u2019 Canada attacks really mean<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

President Donald Trump\u2019s latest effort to weaponize the Department of Justice against his enemies will fail for a simple reason: geography. 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