In a rare display, Special Counsel Jack Smith gave a public statement this Friday after new criminal charges against former President Donald Trump were unveiled. In general, Trump stands accused of the willful retention of a specific series of national security documents and the perpetration of an attempt to obstruct justice as investigators sought to piece together the circumstances of those files’ handling, besides getting back the actual documents themselves.
Smith’s remarks succinctly shut down the claim that political bias has driven the Trump investigation. There’s an objective basis on which to make such an assertion too, since it’s not as though this work was completed by just top officials in the Justice Department who might have a political vendetta. The investigative teams were comprehensive — and it was a jury in south Florida that approved issuing the indictment at all, putting a final seal of approval for moving forward completely outside of the Department of Justice altogether! It’s not politics.
“This indictment was voted by a grand jury of citizens in the Southern District of Florida, and I invite everyone to read it in full to understand the scope and the gravity of the crimes charged,” Smith said. “The men and women of the United States intelligence community and our armed forces dedicate their lives to protecting our nation and its people. Our laws that protect national defense information are critical to the safety and security of the United States and they must be enforced. Violations of those laws put our country at risk.” The special counsel, who took his present position late last year, also spoke more generally about upholding the rule of law.
“We have one set of laws in this country, and they apply to everyone,” Smith told his listeners. “Applying those laws. Collecting facts. That’s what determines the outcome of an investigation. Nothing more. Nothing less.”
An associate of Trump named Walt Nauta was also charged, and he stands accused of participation in Trump’s obstruction schemes — and lying to federal investigators. Notably, Trump also was alleged to have shown some of the sensitive materials he was harboring to third parties who were definitely not authorized to access that information. He evidently acknowledged in recorded remarks that he’d not taken sweeping declassification action while still president, despite later claims he’d done so.
Watch Jack Smith speak below:
