Florida State Attorney Dave Aronberg believes special counsel Jack Smith's delay in prosecuting former President Donald Trump is strategic, the Daily Caller reported. Smith requested the court push back a hearing by several weeks to reevaluate the case in light of a Supreme Court decision in favor of Trump's presidential immunity.
Aronberg made his remarks on MSNC's Morning Joe on Monday. He believes Smith may be delaying the trial and keeping his next moves under wraps to keep Trump's legal team off kilter.
"Jack Smith may not want the defense to see his cards. He may not want the defense to see the witnesses, be better prepared for the ultimate trial that’ll happen if Trump is not elected. And so that may be part of it," Aronberg said.
Florida State Attorney Tells MSNBC Jack Smith May Be Delaying Case To Hide 'His Cards' From Trump pic.twitter.com/kFk3UQC7s3
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) August 26, 2024
Smith and other Trump enemies hoped to disrupt Trump's 2024 reelection bid with charges and trials. The former president was accused of attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, among other criminal charges.
However, Trump's legal team argued for presidential immunity in the case, which the lower court rejected on Dec. 1. The Supreme Court then took up the issue and ruled that Trump was indeed covered by the privilege of the presidential office, which was a game-changer.
This has ostensibly set Smith's prosecution strategy back, but he may be gearing up to go after Trump after November's election. "He also may want to protect his witnesses, like Mike Pence, from being harassed, from being threatened by the MAGA world," Aronberg said of the former vice president.
"Mike Pence would have to take the stand in this mini-trial. He also may want to protect Donald Trump from having a Sixth Amendment violation, where he loses the right to a fair trial because Jack Smith has tainted the jury pool," Aronberg added.
"And if that happens, then an appellate court could throw the whole thing out," Aronberg said. Nothing would be worse for Trump's enemies than for their efforts to prosecute him and stop him from getting elected to fail miserably.
Many rightly suspect this prosecution was a political ploy. Yet Aronberg believes that part of the delay may be so Smith and Attorney General Merrick Garland can salvage what's left of their credibility.
"There are some people saying that Jack Smith and Merrick Garland don’t want to look political. That’s why they’re not doing this because it’s so close to the election," Aronberg claimed.
"That’s not a good reason to avoid doing this. Because whether you do it or don’t, you’re going to be called political. The MAGA world’s going to say you’re weaponizing the Department of Justice," Aronberg continued.
"So go ahead and follow the evidence and the law and do it. Whether you decide to do it or not should not be based on politics. If you choose not to decide, you’ll still have made a choice," he added.
The original plan was to get Trump bogged down with these charges and trials during the campaign. Instead, Trump has notched legal victories that have delayed proceedings until after the election as he continues his campaign.
