(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Prosecutors and operatives who worked for Special Counsel Jack Smith are working overtime to keep their skeletons in the closet ahead of Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, 2025.
Some individuals involved in the federal prosecution of Trump are seeking legal counsel, while others are retaining personal attorneys in preparation for potential accountability promised by Trump for any misconduct.
Rolling Stone first reported the federal prosecutors’ move to hire defense attorneys on Wednesday, citing two anonymous sources familiar with the plan and a former federal prosecutor.
The magazine noted that prosecutors are also combing through their personal and professional communications to “make sure they hadn’t written anything that could be subpoenaed, publicly revealed, and used against them to paint a narrative of alleged misconduct.”
The federal prosecutors have consulted with defense lawyers about ways Trump may “make their lives hell” and how they can protect themselves and their finances if they come under federal investigation.
One investigator “has privately inquired if there are steps, even extreme ones, they can take to protect their spouse’s assets, in the event of harmful criminal charges, the former DOJ official says.”
According to one source, “They want to make sure they are protected, if worse comes to worst.”
Smith, under the direction of Biden’s Attorney General Merrick Garland, unleashed two federal indictments against Trump following the 2020 election. This marked the first time in U.S. history that a former president faced a federal indictment.
Trump has made it clear he does not intend to seek retribution against those who weaponized the justice system against him. However, he has pledged to purge the DOJ of partisan hacks. Trump said he would fire Smith on his first day in office.
Garland and Biden claimed that Smith operated independently, yet a federal judge and several Republicans have questioned the extent of Democratic influence over him.
It is no secret that Jack Smith was a corrupt operative hired by the Biden-Harris administration to unlawfully target President Trump. He must be held accountable, and I am grateful for @Jim_Jordan's leadership in this effort. We need to ensure that this never happens again. pic.twitter.com/566tA9DQY5
— Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (@RepLuna) November 11, 2024
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who presided over the Mar-a-Lago documents case, challenged Smith about Garland’s oversight in the indictment against Trump.
“Has there been any actual oversight,” Cannon asked Smith’s attorneys in June.
“Yes,” Smith prosecutor James Pearce replied, but he declined to elaborate on the specifics of that oversight.
“Why would there be any heartburn to answer whether the attorney general signed off on the indictment?” Cannon retorted.
Ultimately, Cannon dismissed the case, arguing that Garland’s appointment of Smith as special counsel violated the Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
Smith filed another indictment against Trump, accusing him of obstructing the certification of the 2020 presidential election. Following Trump’s landslide victory in 2024, Smith went on to have that case dismissed.
Smith has been rumored as a potential recipient of a presidential pardon, shielding him from accountability for any criminal acts committed during his prosecution of Trump.
