Jack Smith Releases Jan. 6 Investigation Documents

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Facts

  • US District Judge for the District of Columbia Tanya Chutkan has ordered Dept. of Justice (DOJ) special counsel Jack Smith to release more documents related to his investigation into former Pres. Donald Trump and the Jan. 6 Capitol riots.[1]
  • Among the nearly 2K heavily redacted pages released Friday are many social media posts made by Trump and his allies on Jan. 6, including one where Trump accused then-Vice Pres. Mike Pence of not having 'the courage' to reject the 2020 election results.[2]
  • Others included social media posts about alleged election fraud, as well as Trump's prepared Jan. 6 speech, fundraising emails from his 2020 election campaign, and a memo from former Trump lawyer John Eastman regarding a plan to reject Congress' election certification.[2]
  • This follows Judge Chutkan's approval last week of Jack Smith's request to unseal documents based on his claim that Trump should still be charged even though the Supreme Court's recent ruling has given Trump broad presidential immunity.[3]
  • In response, Trump, who stands accused of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election, called the document release 'election interference,' arguing that such legal moves 'always' come 'before the election.'[3][4]
  • This also comes after Judge Chutkan on Wednesday issued a 50-page ruling in which she claimed Trump could still 'share responsibility for the events of January 6 without such express authorization of rioters' criminal actions.'[5]

Sources: [1]FOX News, [2]CNN, [3]The Hill, [4]CNBC and [5]New York Post.

Narratives

  • Democratic narrative, as provided by The New Republic and The Daily Beast. Judge Chutkan's ruling is based on common sense, as the public has a right to know everything about a presidential candidate's potential criminal history before an election. What makes this news so alarming, however, is the reaction from the Trump campaign. If the former president truly believes he did nothing wrong, then he should welcome this document release with open arms.
  • Republican narrative, as provided by American Thinker and FOX News. The reason Trump is against this is not about guilt but rather following the DOJ's policy of releasing information at least 60 days before an election. As for the details of Smith's investigation, all they've shown so far is that some people decided not to follow Trump's request that everyone protest peacefully. This is a bad-faith attempt at an 'October surprise.'

Predictions