The walls have been closing in on Donald Trump slowly but surely. In New York, he has been indicted on 34 felonies related to his “hush money scandal” involving adult film actress, Stormy Daniels. Also in New York, the E. Jean Carroll lawsuit is underway and experts are agreeing that things don’t look good for him there. Meanwhile, in Georgia, law enforcement has been asked to prepare for whatever happens if and when indictments come down on Trump this summer. On top of all that, there is Jack Smith investigating both the January 6th alleged coup attempt and Trump stealing and refusing to return classified and other documents that didn’t belong to him from the White House.
Right now, the latter of Smith’s investigations, the one over the stolen documents, Team Trump is trying to do what some might call an “end around” of the Justice Department, while others might call it a “hail Mary” attempt. But that may be all he has left at this point after suffering legal defeat after legal defeat in just about every court he is a participant or defendant in.
Trump is asking House Republicans to find a “legislative solution” to stop Jack Smith and his investigation.
Trump attorneys Timothy Parlatore, John Rowley and James Trusty sent a letter to House Intelligence Committee chairman Mike Turner (R-OH) asking for the GOP-led House of Representatives to take over the federal investigation, reported The Independent.
His attorneys are claiming that the DOJ isn’t the “appropriate” entity to deal with his alleged crimes. They contend that it can only be “fair” if his allies in the GOP led House are conducting it.
Yes, they are serious and the letter wasn’t written on April Fools Day.
“[The Department of Justice is] not the appropriate agency to conduct investigations pertaining to the mishandling or spillage of classified material,” Trump’s attorneys wrote to the GOP House member. “[This investigation] is antithetical to the principles of a fair and impartial search for the truth”.
“[It is] abundantly clear through this investigation that the institutional practice and procedures within the White House for the handling of classified materials drastically differ from the long-established standard operating procedures employed by various agencies of the intelligence community as well as the U.S. military,” the attorneys also said.
“[The Justice Department] needlessly ratcheted up the adversarial nature of the matter, resulting in a waste of time and resources and a disturbing loss of public trust. This serves no legitimate purpose, as DOJ’s actions further erode constitutional rights while blindly compromising its own ability to provide a comprehensive account of what happened,” the attorneys wrote.
This seems like a very desperate act, at least when one is watching from the sidelines. Trump and his attorneys seem to forget that the National Archives attempted to get the materials back for well over a year. They patiently waited, were lied to, and treated like fools by Trump and his team. Everyone trying to recover the materials from the National Archives to the DOJ handled everything with kid gloves giving deference to the twice impeached former POTUS like no American ever has had the privilege of.
Now, they are trying to sell the idea that only his allies and cronies can give him a fair hearing and anyone else cannot.
And this is the guy who claims that everything is rigged every time he loses, whether it is in court or at the ballot box? The only one trying to rig anything seems to be Donald Trump.
It is doubtful that this will gain any traction, but as they say, desperate times call for desperate measures. One thing Trump looks like is desperate.
Expect Jack Smith to roll on with his investigation.
