According to the narrative that the White House is pushing, Special Counsel Jack Smith is carrying out his repeated indictments of former President Donald Trump “independently” without any influence, pressure, or coordination from the White House. To help maintain the illusion of independence, Joe Biden has recently declined to respond to questions about it when asked.
But Biden’s past comments on this issue make it quite clear that Special Counsel Smith is actually doing exactly what Biden ordered.
The New York Times reports (with emphasis added):
The attorney general’s deliberative approach has come to frustrate Democratic allies of the White House and, at times, President Biden himself. As recently as late last year, Mr. Biden confided to his inner circle that he believed former President Donald J. Trump was a threat to democracy and should be prosecuted, according to two people familiar with his comments. And while the president has never communicated his frustrations directly to Mr. Garland, he has said privately that he wanted Mr. Garland to act less like a ponderous judge and more like a prosecutor who is willing to take decisive action over the events of Jan. 6.
Donald Trump was indicted earlier this month on charges relating to his actions after the 2020 election leading up to Jan. 6, 2021. The charges include conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights. Experts have panned the indictment for being incredibly weak.
It may have taken a year, but the indictment finally came down a week ago. But it’s quite clear from the New York Times article that Biden was encouraging his attorney general to use the power of the government to stop Trump from returning to office.
Related: Jack Smith May Have Doomed His Case Against Trump
And yet this wasn’t the only time Biden has made it clear that his administration was going to go after Trump to prevent him from becoming president again. Biden told a reporter he would use “constitutional” means to “make sure” Trump wouldn’t return to the White House.
“How do you reassure [world leaders] … that the former President will not return or that his political movement, which is still very strong, will not once again take power in the United States?” a reporter asked him in November 2022.
“Well, we just have to demonstrate that he will not take power by — if we — if he does run,” Biden replied. “I’m making sure he, under legitimate efforts of our Constitution, does not become the next President again.”
Biden: "We have to demonstrate that [Trump] will not take power if he does run. Making sure he under the legitimate efforts of the Constitution, become the next president again." pic.twitter.com/iwE3hP2njG
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) November 9, 2022
Biden was clearly saying he had every intention of using the federal government to get Trump, and he has. Yet the White House now claims the investigations of Trump are independent. From Biden’s own mouth, they are not.
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