Possible good news: Special counsel Smith is required to file a report summarizing his investigations before he goes.
November 14, 2024

We may not get the federal Trump trials that his anti-democracy bootlickers at the Supreme Court and Toady Extraordinaire Judge Aileen Cannon stole from the public but we may get a closer look at the evidence against the guy too many Americans thought would be a good president.

According to The New York Times, Special Counsel Jack Smith plans to “get ahead of the president-elect’s promise to fire him within 'two seconds' of being sworn in” by resigning before Trump takes office.

But Smith will have a chance at a parting shot at Trump. Better yet, it could leave us with something to hold on to should our long national MAGA nightmare ever end.

More from The Times:

Department regulations call for him to file a report summarizing his investigation and decisions — a document that may stand as the final accounting from a prosecutor who filed extensive charges against a former president but never got his cases to trial.

The type of special counsel report being prepared by Mr. Smith and his team is technically supposed to be directed to the attorney general.

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland has repeatedly signaled he intends to release such reports to the public, although with some redactions to comply with broader department rules.

The Times casts some doubt on whether Smith’s report will provide new details on the dozens of federal indictments Smith is now forced to abandon both because of the time crunch and because of possible vetting from U.S. intelligence agencies for classified information. But The Times also notes that most of the vetting has already been done.

My money is on Smith to pull it off. Not so much on Attorney General Merrick Garland:

The big question now, assuming Mr. Smith finishes the report on his current schedule, is whether Mr. Garland will release the findings before he leaves office, or defer the release to the Trump team, which might not make its contents public.

A spokeswoman for Mr. Garland declined to comment.

Whatever happens, let’s hope Smith retains a copy that can be made public and perhaps expanded upon at some future time.

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