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submitted 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/politics@lemmy.world

Summary

Special Counsel Jack Smith's report concluded that Donald Trump avoided prosecution for January 6-related charges due to his reelection.

The DOJ determined that prosecuting a sitting president violated constitutional protections, despite evidence strong enough to secure a conviction.

Smith noted that Trump's return to office directly halted legal action and criticized existing DOJ policies and judicial interpretations, which shielded presidents from accountability.

The report underscores how voters, by reinstating Trump, indirectly prevented his criminal prosecution for actions threatening democratic institutions.

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[-] dx1@lemmy.world 92 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

The fact that they didn't secure a conviction for four years tells you all you need to know. Complete sham. Guilty as sin, but they wouldn't put him in jail.

[-] Podunk@lemmy.world 32 points 6 days ago

To be fair, that was not jack smith's fault. He did his job exactly as well as he was allowed. Blame the system, but in this instance, do not blame the man.

[-] DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social 6 points 6 days ago

Bullshit. The Dems wanted to run against Trump while he was being prosecuted and slow rolled the investigations because they thought they'd win.

[-] Podunk@lemmy.world 17 points 6 days ago

And thats not smiths fault. He did his job. The failure is above that. Pay attention to the bigger picture.

[-] Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works 10 points 6 days ago

What about Garland, can we blame him?

[-] Podunk@lemmy.world 8 points 6 days ago
[-] dx1@lemmy.world 5 points 6 days ago

Why not? He folded up everything as soon as the election was over. What the hell kind of integrity is that?

[-] Podunk@lemmy.world 21 points 6 days ago

He had a job. He did the job. His run down of how things go does not exist in a vacvuum. Where do his responsibilities start and where do they stop?

He did his job right. The follow-up is on someone else. And they failed. On epic levels. But dont blame him. He already paid the piper. The man gets credit for what he did. His report being ignored is no fault of his own.

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[-] Soulg@sh.itjust.works 14 points 6 days ago

Because it was obvious that it would all be thrown out and he would be fired. Nothing would have changed if he kept going. Garland is at fault for waiting years to even appoint Smith.

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[-] GiddyGap@lemm.ee 31 points 6 days ago

In the US, if you have money and power, you can get away with anything. Land of the free (If you're rich).

[-] octopus_ink@lemmy.ml 14 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

Since finding this 17 year old song linked somewhere on the fediverse awhile back I continue to be amazed how it just gets right to the root of nearly every problem we have. Start to finish, if you are angry at the current state of things (and not a maga), pretty good chance this song nails it for you.

Welcome to the United Snakes

Land of the thief, home of the slave

The grand imperial guard where the dollar is sacred and power is God

(and it turned me into a bit of a Brother Ali fan)

[-] TheLadyAugust@lemmy.world 4 points 6 days ago

Thank you for sharing this song. It really hits hard right now

[-] octopus_ink@lemmy.ml 3 points 6 days ago

It really does. It's a banger anyway just based on how it sounds, and ON TOP OF THAT I want to shout every word from the rooftops. I damn near can't stop playing it.

Thanks for saying something, I feel a little spammy when I link it sometimes.

[-] militaryintelligence@lemmy.world 25 points 6 days ago

God stfu. Him getting elected means nothing. He was getting away with everything either way

[-] Huschke@lemmy.world 3 points 6 days ago

True, if anything he somehow would have dragged everything out until he was bed-ridden at which point he would have gotten house arrest which is laughable considering the size of his mansions.

[-] neuracnu 25 points 1 week ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

I think there is some deeply cynical logic, or a horrifying game of chicken, being played by Democratic leaders here.

Let's say Jack Smith is given the go-ahead to investigate and prosecute Trump as fast as he possibly could (while building a bullet-proof case for conviction). With all the legal resources (not to mention Republican-friendly judges) available for Trump to leverage, it's safe to say that Smith certainly would not have been able to complete a full trial and secure a conviction before the 2024 election. But perhaps one could have been under-way.

A Trump trial for election interference in the middle of 2024 would have been a galvanizing force for his base, and likely cause his popularity among like-minded folks to surge and likely help his polling numbers. After all, conservatives love their persecution complexes and already live in a hazy fantasy world where their guy can do no wrong. So this doesn't help Democrats.

If Trump were to be acquitted, this would obviously be credibility kryptonite for Democrats, so that's a bad outcome. And if Trump were to be convicted, I believe there is genuine concern among top Democrats that all the armed crazies (including those in the police, government positions and military) might do a real insurrection this time as opposed to the world's shittiest flash mob.

So what's a cynical Democratic operator to do? Have Smith slow-walk the investigation and take his time to make it immaculate. Have the election without using litigation to get in Trump's way and hope that people don't make a shitty choice. If they do, they'll get what they paid for: another four years of ridiculous chaos. These would represent setbacks and lost ground for Democratic causes, but their patrons will figure out how to make it profitable in the meantime and be there to fund a comeback when the American people become exhausted by the bullshit. Let him burn himself out in the spotlight, further expose himself as a corrupt fool, letting his support curdle naturally rather than fighting him and his supporters at their strongest.

This scenario presumes several deeply horrifying and risky ideas:

  1. No one who matters will get hurt in the next four years. Are you rich? Are you a middle-class cis-het-white person? Do you not live in Palestine, Ukraine or Taiwan? You'll ride this out. The poor and the queers have nowhere else to turn, so they'll eat shit and be right back on the Democrat's side next time around (unless they have money, of course).

  2. Trump and his cronies will be too inept to dismantle American democracy before the next election.

I'm no card player, but this all seems like a terrible gamble to me.

[-] hitmyspot@aussie.zone 6 points 6 days ago

Or, do the right thing and prosecute him, even if it's bad for them politically.

Now it's terrible for them politically and terrible for the country and the world.

[-] 474D@lemmy.world 4 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

The first half here doesn't really track because Trump's numbers didn't really change. He had a similar amount of voters as usual, and the Democrats came up short. I don't think there could have been a substantial boost for him, his people are solid regardless of whatever he says or goes through.

The second half, yeah that makes sense, but now we see happens when Democrats "play by the rules" or try to play it safe... They lose. It's less about trump and more that they didn't capture voters. We needed Kamala to distance herself from Biden but she wanted to be "nice". People are struggling, no one feels the economy is great, they left progressives behind, and here we are now. Even if progressives are only 10-20% of the party, you NEED them to win

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[-] masterofn001@lemmy.ca 12 points 6 days ago

Biden still has 4 days to official act this mother fucker.

[-] kreskin@lemmy.world 1 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

Ah I see it wasnt Merrick Garland and 4 years of not getting a prosecution done. Its as usual all to be blamed on "the voters". Eff you, Esquire magazine.

[-] Shawdow194@fedia.io 15 points 1 week ago
[-] JaymesRS@literature.cafe 11 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

Don’t forget the MAGA faction of SCOTUS who also chose to delay as much as possible

[-] cabron_offsets@lemmy.world 8 points 6 days ago

It’s the voters’ collective fault.

[-] Rhoeri@lemmy.world 7 points 6 days ago

Lemmy user Rhoeri@lemmy.world’s special report in response:

No shit.

[-] rayyy@lemmy.world 7 points 6 days ago

Wrong. His LIES, Russia, China, Iran, nutcases and the corrupt Republican party save him.

[-] nimble 5 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

For the report it links to WaPo which is behind a paywall (and shit). I get annoyed by articles that don't link the full thing that they are discussing.

If you want to read the full report then here is an article that links to it.

Alternatively: direct link to report

[-] technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 6 days ago

It's bad enough libs blame voters for their crappy genocidal candidates...

But now voters are responsible for the completely disgusting punishment system?

What will they blame voters for next?

[-] nova_ad_vitum@lemmy.ca 17 points 6 days ago

Voters literally are to blame. Even if you're of the opinion that voters that stayed home bear no responsibility, those who voted for Trump absolutely do. No democratic system can protect itself from its own voters.

[-] zenitsu@sh.itjust.works 11 points 6 days ago

Those who couldn't be bothered to vote against him are also very much to blame.

[-] Rhoeri@lemmy.world 3 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

Personally, I blame the 90 million non voters. But yeah, the spoiler third party candidates and Shill Stein had their part as well as they took all the ignorati votes.

Oh, and the trump voters also. Can’t forget those losers.

[-] CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world 5 points 6 days ago

I'm glad to hear this guy skates because a whole lot of low-info voters made protest votes, sat out, or even voted for donvict because "both sides" or other stupid narratives.

[-] geneva_convenience@lemmy.ml 3 points 6 days ago

Democrats and blaming voters name a better combination.

[-] Jomega@lemmy.world 10 points 6 days ago

In a democracy, voters are responsible for who gets elected.

[-] technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 6 days ago
[-] zenitsu@sh.itjust.works 6 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

Wherever people get the candidate they voted for.

[-] Rhoeri@lemmy.world 2 points 6 days ago

Prove to people how you don’t know how democracy works in three words:

[-] Rhoeri@lemmy.world 4 points 6 days ago

Hmmm…. I’d say protest voting and ignorance.

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this post was submitted on 14 Jan 2025
461 points (100.0% liked)

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