US: Jack Smith finds the chink in Donald Trump’s armor

US: A veteran federal prosecutor has warned media that Donald Trump‘s use of a private counsel to interact with Vice President Mike Pence might aid to prosecute him.

Reacting to the newly leaked data in the election-fraud case involving former president Neama Rahmani, head prosecutor Jack Smith said that Trump’s employment of a private attorney violates his presidential immunity. Smith further said that the Republican candidate pressured Pence into believing Trump’s allegations—that the 2020 race was rigged in Democrat Joe Biden’s advantage—using a private attorney.

On four charges of allegedly attempting to reverse the outcome of the 2020 election in preparation for the January 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol, Trump was charged in Washington, D.C. Not guilty pleas from the Republican presidential candidate have indicated that the matter is part of a political witch hunt.

Trump intended Pence to utilize his Senate position to object to certifying the 2020 election outcome as all vice presidents immediately become president of the Senate.

Using a private counsel to interact with Pence, Smith said, Trump cannot assert presidential immunity.
Smith must show the conduct of the former president as private because the Supreme Court decided on July 1 that he had general immunity from prosecution for presidential acts.

“It is hard to imagine stronger evidence that conduct is private than when the President excludes his White House Counsel and only wishes to have his private counsel present,” Smith said in his evidence dossier, which was published on October 2.

Now head of the Los Angeles-based West Coast Trial Lawyers law firm, Rahmani told Newsweek that Trump’s conversations about his election campaign would be seen as private, so Smith’s framing of the Pence correspondence is rather crucial.

“Pence is particularly positioned since he was the running mate of Trump, vice president, and Senate president,” Rahmani said.

“Official activities in his role as vice president or president of the Senate would probably be covered by immunity. Messages connected to the presidential campaign are personal and not immune. Smith is therefore attempting to present the correspondence as a personal correspondence between Trump, his personal attorney, and his running partner.

Smith wants to present the evidence completely against Trump so that early in the case any immunity challenges may be handled. That stops the Republican attorneys from objecting midway through the trial.

The Supreme Court’s decision clearly states that the case against Trump should be fully expressed early to let the federal courts evaluate its constitutional validity.