Jan. 6 Trial: Special Counsel to Share Trump's Phone Data

Facts

• Special Counsel Jack Smith revealed in a court filing on Monday that he plans to use data from former Pres. Donald Trump's cell phone and call 'expert' witnesses to testify during the election interference trial investigating allegations that Trump tried to overturn the 2020 presidential election result.¹
• According to the filing, some of the data would disclose when Trump, the 2024 frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, had his phone open and was logged into Twitter on Jan. 6, 2021 — the day of the riots at the US Capitol and the certification of the election results.¹
• Furthermore, prosecutors intend to call three data experts as witnesses who would explain to a jury where a device was used and when a user accessed specific apps. The experts have not been named in the filing.²
• One of the witnesses — identified as Expert 3 — is expected to testify to extracting data from Trump's and one unnamed individual's official government phones to show how they were used between the conclusion of the 2020 election and Jan. 6, 2021.³
• The filing comes after the US Supreme Court indicated that it would take up Smith's request to rule quickly on whether Trump is protected by presidential immunity. The case is scheduled to go to trial in March.⁴
• While Smith has also charged Trump with mishandling classified documents, Manhattan's district attorney has charged him with falsifying records. The former president is also charged with participating in an illegal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.⁴

Sources: ¹FOX News, ²CNN, ³Guardian and ⁴Forbes.

Narratives

• Anti-Trump narrative, as provided by The new republic. This is blockbuster news for prosecutors and everyone who wants to see Trump face repercussions for his attempts to usurp democracy. With this data and the expert testimony, Smith will be able to trace every action Trump made leading up to and on Jan. 6, and also detail who had access to the accounts that were inciting the rioters.
• Pro-Trump narrative, as provided by PJ Media. Regardless of what Jack Smith claims to have and what his so-called evidence is going to show, this case — and all the cases against Trump — are just attempts by the US Dept. of Justice and other partisan prosecutors to interfere in the 2024 election in favor of Pres. Joe Biden. Smith is unethical, and it's about time Republicans stood up to him on behalf of their probable presidential nominee.

Predictions