Below is my column in The Hill on the appearance of Jack Smith in a “No Kings” T-Shirt just days after his testimony on Capitol Hill, claiming to have had no bias or agenda against Trump. Smith must have known that his presence and dress at the “Power to the People” concert would be widely circulated on the Internet. His message was clear, but entirely unnecessary given his record as Special Counsel.
Here is the column:
After his recent congressional testimony, former Special Counsel Jack Smith appeared at a “Power to the People Fest” sporting a “No Kings” T-shirt. Aside from a midlife crisis, the most likely explanation is that Smith wanted to send a message, reaffirming his bona fides as an anti-Trump warrior.
It was a Comey moment, but without the seashells.
The Power to the People Fest featured many whom Smith has long cultivated in the “Democracy-is-Ending” crowd. The organizers billed the event as “working to restore and strengthen democracy” and featured some of Trump’s loudest critics.
The top billing went to Bruce Springsteen, who has lately turned his concerts into anti-Trump rave sessions, including comparing Trump officials to “Gestapo” and calling the administration “treasonous.” He continued those attacks at the concert with Smith, denouncing Trump as “lawless” and his administration as murderers.
For his part, Tom Morello, the chief organizer of the rally, has called Trump and his administration “fascists” and leading crowds in chants of “F— Trump.”
And there was Smith in his own “No Kings” tee shirt.
It was a particularly inopportune time, as new evidence on Capitol Hill showed how Smith not only seized phone records of Republican members of Congress, but tracked communications with Trump’s attorney.
Smith has always been undone by his excessive appetite and his habitual failure to respect the limits on his authority. He has a history of losing major cases by advancing excessive and abusive legal claims. This included his stinging defeat in a unanimous Supreme Court decision dismantling his case against former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R).
During the Trump investigation, Smith showed that he had learned nothing from his losses. Indeed, former Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Smith with full knowledge of his past disregard for constitutional limits.
Smith richly deserves to be criticized for his unrelenting attack on free speech protections as well as his decision to file a second case focusing on the 2020 election. And the unfolding details of how Smith seized the telephone records of Republican members of Congress, including those investigating his own conduct, only confirm suspicions that Smith wanted to bag Trump at any cost. That included seeking to curtail appeals and rush prosecutions before the 2024 election. Smith failed when Trump chose to run despite the lawfare, and he failed again when Trump handily won the election. But Smith’s obsession was so consuming that he was willing to try Trump right up to Inauguration Day.
The new details of Smith’s investigation should outrage members of both parties. The use of pen registers (to identify the destination of outbound calls and messages) and of trap and trace orders (for incoming) entirely disregarded longstanding rules protecting the legislative branch from such encroachments. And what is particularly alarming is that these searches were obvious fishing expeditions — these were not focused searches on specific wrongdoing, like the searches involving the corruption case against Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) 20 years ago.
In addition to members of Congress, Smith and his team monitored the activities of Trump’s legal defense team, journalists and campaign advisers. That includes now-White House chief of staff Susie Wiles’ phone. At the same time, Smith secured a non-disclosure order from the court that prevented mobile carriers from notifying the affected lawmakers that they were being spied on. Thus, as members were looking into Smith’s excesses, they were not told that he was receiving and poring over their telephone records.
The White House Government Transparency Task Force released material this week showing that Smith’s team used an investigation codenamed “Plasmic Echo” to engage in an untethered fishing expedition. Notably, Attorney General Merrick Garland and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco signed off on the sweeping seizure with no apparent effort to address obvious constitutional concerns over the right to counsel and Article I powers. Once again, Garland was entirely passive and simply endorsed the recommendations of those around him.
FBI Director Christopher Wray sent a March 2022 memo to Garland and Monaco seeking the attorney general’s approval to launch Plasmic Echo. Monaco added her endorsement before Garland signed off.
FBI investigators traced “Wiles’ phone calls and text messages with at least 21 lawyers affiliated with Trump, numerous campaign staff, political advisors, and at least five journalists from at least February to May 2023.”
This investigation also involved gathering intelligence on Trump’s political action committee, including its donors and campaign expenses.
Smith and the FBI continued the aggressive posture even as agents were balking at some of these means, including those who felt that the raid on Mar-a-Lago was unnecessary to resolve the concerns over the classified material.
Smith has continued to portray himself as unbiased and not motivated in any way by the election: “Anybody who has worked with me and knows me during the course of my career knows that I would not let politics play a role,” he has said.
But shortly afterward, he appeared in his No Kings tee shirt at the Power to the People fest. It was vintage Smith — an almost mocking arrogance in the face of growing criticism over his methods and partisanship.
The irony is that Smith was a better fit as a member of this profanity-spewing anti-Trump crowd than he ever was as special counsel. The pretense was gone, and he was finally in his element. In that sense, he might view this as his coming-out party, but Smith actually came out years ago.
Jonathan Turley is a law professor and the New York Times best-selling author of “Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution.”
OT; That is wild! Ukraine just destroyed three crucial data centers in Russia and 99% of all MAGA bots disappeared. WOW.
So most of MAGA was fake. No surprise there. And Elon is…. Upset about it. Thanks Ukraine 👍
???
Ukraine did NOT “just destroy three crucial data centers–the drone attacks have been going on for three days. Catch up, georgie.
???? MAGA bots? Almost all of the destruction was to Yandex, a Russian entity. Suddenly, X becomes Inspector Clouseau reading some more comic books. And all this time we thought X was a bot tester hurling bad comments about Turley at us to gauge the response. Boy, were we fools!
Yandex is Russias equivalent to Google. Their MAGA bot farms. Since they’ve been destroyed MAGA traffic has gone down significantly. Meaning the majority of MAGA commenters are Russian bots.
MAGA sites got pretty quiet after that. Interesting.
We’ve got Russian bots on this site. And every day it’s a puppet show.
Funny, while I guess I can see how someone could see Trump as presenting himself like a king, I fail to see how that would distinguish him from an entire litany of past POTUS, most of them Democrats, who clearly aspired to be considered as such, and who did their best to exercise power in a royal manner, exclusive of Constitutional constraints: Biden; Obama; both Bushes; Clinton; and (skipping a few) most certainly LBJ.
Ilhan Omar is being targeted by lawfare from the Trump administration. That seems like a bad thing for all naturalized citizens in America.
It seems like the sort of thing that would happen at the beginning of a neo-Holocaust.
Trump and his supporters kept crying about ‘election interference’ during Jack Smith’s investigation. But that’s exactly what Trump is doing with this sham investigation of Omar. Let’s be honest, if Trump has anything on Omar, it would have been news long ago.
Why doesn’t she “assimilate?” Why does she wear the weird clothes of her homeland and perpetuate the form of government, Islam, of the area in the U.S., which exists under the fundamental law of the Constitution, not the Quran? That is subversive insurrection.
Weaird clothes like MAGA hats??
Weaird?? Ha ha ha!! Learn to spell!!
There is a massive amount of Fraud which she is connected to.
In what world is not reasonable to investigate her involvment in that ?
Myriads of congressmen of both parties have been investigated and some found guilty of fraud.
I do not know if Omar committed fraud. Maybe she is just entirely unwittingly surrounded by fraudster, but there is no doubt that actual crimes took place the only question is whether Omar was herself involved.
There i the separate independant issue of whether she herself committed immigration fraud.
That really only matters if she is connected to the other Fraud.
If she is not charged and convicted of entitlements fraud – the other issue will quietly go away.
If however she is convicted of entitlements fraud – then she will possibly be convicted of immigration fraud and deported. But it is incredibly difficult to de-naturalize a US citizen
even one who is a criminal.
Regardless outside the far left Omar is not a sympathetic figure.
There is far more than the reasonable suspicion needed to investigate Omar.
That is not lawfare – that is the rule of law working.
We will all have to see if Omar was complicit in the fraud surrounding her, or just stupid.
Are you actually doubting the evidence of Fraud surrounding her ?
Numerous people close to her have plead guilty to fraud.
I would note the same is true of Gov. Walz- but the connections are worse with respect to Omar.
Biden also investigated her finances!! DF ANON!! Lawfare too???
Elections are almost always a choice of lesser evils. There is little good to say about the Democrats except that they will wreck America more slowly. Though I voted thrice for Trump, his betrayal on war promises is both unforgiveable and potentially deadly for our nation. He must be punished.
Also the whole immigration thing has gone too far. It’s one thing to deport illegals, great. It’s wholly another to cancel – or try to cancel– who areas of law approved by Congress such as asylum, by adminstrative policy fiat. THat is wrong and unconstitutional. It’s also bogus to gin up a bunch of phony denaturalizations, cancellations of green cards, foot dragging on green card review and approval, making a mountain of a molehil on trivial paperwork mistakes– talk to immigration lawyers and you will find out how bogus this whole thing has become under the auspices of the tyrannical Stephen Miller the “immigration czar” who irionically is a product of Jewish grandparents who came as refugees to America fleeing hte third reich
ANON
The Trump-Putin Alliance
With this diesel deal, Trump has come closer than ever to telling the world that he has formed an alliance with Putin. The so-called ‘Russia hoax’ was no hoax whatsoever. The hoax was calling it a ‘hoax’.
And while Trump’s diesel deal is still an active news story, Turley would have us believe Jack Smith is the villain! Which raises the question: ‘Does Turley ever look at mainstream media?’
January 6th was a huge gift to Putin. That day shattered any illusion that the U.S. was a rock solid democracy. SCOTUS conservatives essentially sided with Putin when they refused to hold Trump accountable.
What is going on with the log-in here?? Is this an effort to defend Estovir?
Fearing a humiliating midterm defeat in Texas, on Monday a desperate Donald J. Trump attempted to return the state to Mexico.
Amid news that Texas would no longer be a part of the US, spontaneous celebrations broke out on the streets of Austin.
Meanwhile, the populations of Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, and New Mexico demanded that a new border wall be built to keep Texans out of their states, “and make Texas pay for it,” they said.
In Mexico, President Claudia Sheinbaum said she would accept the return of Texas “as long as it doesn’t include Paxton and Abbott.”
Gang colors. When the Democrats win again, he will be rewarded for his attempted hit job.
Former Special Counsels are allowed to do political things. Especially Smith who knows more about Trump’s crimes than anyone else.
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The disciples really need affirmation as Trump’s polling numbers keep swirling the drain and Democrats make gains. Turley tries to make the case that Jack Smith was “out to get Trump at any cost”–as if Trump never did: 1. start an insurrection because his fragile ego couldn’t handle the fact that more Americans voted for Biden than for him; or 2. that Trump did not steal classified documents. Turley fails to address either of these matters, but, like all MAGA pundits, he attacks the person going after Trump. Was the Biden DOJ just supposed to ignore the insurrection and the death of Officer Siknik, who died in the line of duty after a Trump supporter doused him with a chemical spray that brought on two strokes. And, the “Comey moment” is pathetic–never let an opportunity pass by to attack one of Trump’s perceived enemies.
Wearing a “No Kings” t-shirt does NOT prove that Jack Smith is biased–you MAGAs keep defending Alito even though he hung a US flag upside down (which is supposed to be a sign of distress) and flew a pro-Trump evergreen flag at his vacation home–claiming that these things didn’t prove bias–although his rulings do. Every American has their own biases, and most of us are vehemently opposed to Trump, to his policies and his handling of everything—presumably, including judges–and for good reason—because everything Trump does is to feed his ego, to push the limits of authority and to get his way.
Turley talks about Smith “seizing phone records”–but the only “records” that were seized were those that tracked the date, time and number of calls placed and received up to the time of the insurrection–the contents of the calls were not sought or obtained–and the reason was valid–to investigate the extent of collusion that may have occurred between Trump and syncophantic members of Congress. Today, Trump’s flunky FBI served a warrant on Ilhan Omar’s home and went through her possessions–WHY? What crime has she committed? Did SHE start an insurrection based on a lie, like Trump did? Did SHE falsify Electoral College documents or steal classified documents and lie about returning them?
Turley claims that Jack Smith has some alleged history of court “failures” from which he didn’t learn any lessons, and then cites his own MAGA-pundit column as support. However, according to “Forbes”, Trump has lost at least 60% of the lawsuits filed in federal court over his efforts to test the limits of presidential power, to impose his will on the rest of us and abuse the power he lied to get. Jack Smith got a 37-count indictment against Trump for stealing classified documents. As to the insurrection, Trump not only got his fans to attack the Capitol, but he got supporters to falsify Electoral College documents, all without any evidence. Should this conduct go unpunished?
Turley had to purge out liberal commentators before he ran this piece.
Jack Smith wearing a “No Kings” T-shirt to a sociommunists (sō sē äm yə nists) “Power to the People Fest” is signature significant.
Signature Significance: Signature significance posits that a single act can be so remarkable that it has predictive and analytical value, and should not be dismissed as statistically insignificant.
Steve Witherspoon, you’re making zero sense. Nobody’s cares whether Smith wears a t-shirt expressing a political view as a private citizen. He’s not on the job prosecuting Trump. So what is the issue?
It’s just professor Turley yanking your chain for some gratuitous rage. Predictably you fell for it.
X wrote, “Nobody’s cares whether Smith wears a t-shirt expressing a political view as a private citizen. He’s not on the job prosecuting Trump. So what is the issue?”
He is “expressing a political view as a private citizen”; is that really the limit to your critical thinking?
I think you just opened your mouth to change socks.
Consider the following:
A New York City prosecutor wears a pointed white hood at a Klu Klux Klan meeting. Does that signature significant action shine enough light on the obvious anti-black bias of the prosecutor to go back and do a serious review all of the cases where he prosecuted a black person to check for bias? Could he be just “expressing a view as a private citizen” and that would never bias his ability to fairly prosecute black people.
If you say no to my question, then you’re a moron.
Smith and the likes are the reason we have disbarments. Why he still holds a license?
Trump is doing his own version of “bread and circuses” by wanting to execute someone by firing squad.
He thinks Americans are as manipulable as Romans by gimicky spectacles. He does have experience with professional wrestling. Why can’t he just govern like a normal president?
It was Hegseth’s idea, and Trump may nix it, according to the New Republic.
<i>Why can’t he just govern like a normal president?<?i>
Anyone who hasn’t been living under a rock for the last decade is aware that nothing about Trump is “normal.” And what is your definition of a normal president? Advanced dementia, can’t find his way off an empty stage, can’t form a coherent English sentence, uses autopen to grant blanket pardons, and figure-heads an administration run by a shadowy cabal of left-wing extremists?
Four conspirators to the Lincoln assassination were hanged within three months and that was quite and inarguably normal.
True
“Four conspirators to the Lincoln assassination were hanged within three months.”
That was quite and inarguably normal.
That was quite and inarguably normal.
Four conspirators to the Lincoln assassination were hanged within three months and that was quite and inarguably normal.
AI Overview
General Dwight D. Eisenhower authorized the execution of Private Eddie Slovik, who was shot by a military firing squad on January 31, 1945, in France.
Speaking of “No Kings,” here’s a list of communist wannabe “Kings” and treasonous subversives, seditionists, insurrectionists, and criminal rebels who have yet to be brought to justice:
_________________________________________
“We are five days away from fundamentally transforming the United States of America.”
– Barack Obama
___________________
“We will stop him.”
– Peter Strzok to FBI paramour Lisa Page
_____________________________________________
“[Obama] wants to know everything we’re doing.”
– Lisa Page to FBI paramour Peter Strzok
_____________________________________________
“I want to believe the path you threw out for consideration in Andy’s office — that there’s no way he gets elected — but I’m afraid we can’t take that risk It’s like an insurance policy in the unlikely event you die before 40.”
– Peter Strzok to FBI parmour Lisa Page
___________________________________________
“People on the 7th floor to include Director are fired up about this [Trump] server.”
– Bill Priestap
________________
“I had a discussion with the case team and we believe there to be predication to include former President of the United States Donald J. Trump as a predicated subject.”
– Timothy Thibault to John Crabb, U.S. Attorney’s Office, D.C.
_________________________________________________________________
The Obama Coup D’etat in America is the most egregious abuse of power and the most prodigious crime in American political history. The co-conspirators are:
Kevin Clinesmith, Bill Taylor, Eric Ciaramella, Rosenstein, Mueller/Team, Andrew Weissmann,
James Comey, Christopher Wray, McCabe, Strozk, Page, Laycock, Kadzic, Sally Yates,
James Baker, Bruce Ohr, Nellie Ohr, Priestap, Kortan, Campbell, Sir Richard Dearlove,
Christopher Steele, Simpson, Joseph Mifsud, Alexander Downer, Stefan “The Walrus” Halper,
Azra Turk, Kerry, Hillary, Huma, Mills, Brennan, Gina Haspel, Clapper, Lerner, Farkas, Power,
Lynch, Rice, Jarrett, Holder, Brazile, Sessions (patsy), Nadler, Schiff, Pelosi, Obama,
Joe Biden, James E. Boasberg, Emmet Sullivan, Gen. Milley, George Soros, John McCain,
Marc Elias, Igor Danchenko, Fiona Hill, Charles H. Dolan, Jake Sullivan, Strobe Talbot,
Cody Shear, Victoria Nuland, Ray “Red Hat” Epps, Don Berlin, Kathy Ruemmler, Rodney Joffe,
Paul Vixie, L. Jean Camp, Andrew Whitney, Lisa O. Monaco, Fani Willis, Alvin Bragg,
Matthew Colangelo, Merrick Garland, Juan Merchan, Timothy Thibault,
Carmen Mercedes Lineberger et al.
Professor Turley: “Smith failed when Trump chose to run despite the lawfare, and he failed again when Trump handily won the election.” In 2024 174 million Americans were registered to vote and Trump got only 77,302, 580 or 44.43% of the eligible vote (VAP). Actively and passively 55.37% of the VAP voted against Trump. Trump ‘handily winning the election?’ Some ‘mandate?’ I don’t think so, just a real good example of why in a day and time when votes are more readily counted and certified electronically that the electoral college should be abolished, and to encourage more voting age population participation.
That is EXACTLY why the electoral college was created. It was to prevent a handful of States with the majority population from mandating a single party self serving rule. Where would America stand had Harris won? Open borders, unvetted criminals, Israel abandoned to the Muslim hordes. Make no mistake, a fight for the nation you want, a fight you will get and lose.
It was to prevent a
handful of States with themajority population frommandating a single party self serving rulewinning an election.The quote above is followed by this sentence: “But Smith’s obsession was so consuming that he was willing to try Trump right up to Inauguration Day.” Professor Turley in these two sentences could have done a better job of accurately describing the situation. First, Trump chose to run before Smith was appointed. Second, Smith failed because Trump won against Harris? Third, Smith clearly was winding up his investigation after the election — he moved to dismiss the J6 case on November 25, submitted his final report to Garland on January 7, and resigned on January 10.
That’s about the most blatantly dishonest use of statistics a person can come up with. Trump got 49.8% of the popular vote. Your suggestion that 55.37% voted against him is complete and total BS. Trump also won <strong>all seven swing states</strong> and 58% of the electoral college vote. That last figure is particularly significant because all presidential campaigns are aimed at one thing and one thing only: maximizing their electoral college vote. Popular votes are irrelevant because that’s not what candidates design their campagins arond.
Maybe if the Dems had allowed an actual vote for their POTUS candidate, they would have fared better. Instead, they crowned a queen instead of letting her run in a primary, and she was the least intelligent or politically talented politician on the Dem side, The only Dem dumber and less talented than her was Walz, whom they foolishly picked over the much more popular and more talented Josh Shapiro for the VP slot – obviously because Shapiro is Jewish, which is a disqualifier for Dems nowadays.
Why did Smith fail when Trump won? Smith had no goal of preventing Trump from winning.