Donald Trump Legal Move Spells 'Danger Dead Ahead,' Former Prosecutor Warns
NewsweekDec 01, 2023
Jan. 6 Trial: Special Counsel to Share Trump's Phone Data
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Image copyright: Alex Wong/Getty Images News via Getty Images (Aug. 1, 2023)
The Facts
Special Counsel Jack Smith revealed in a court filing on Monday that he plans to use data from former Pres. Donald Trump's cell phone and call "expert" witnesses to testify during the election interference trial investigating allegations that Trump tried to overturn the 2020 presidential election result.
According to the filing, some of the data would disclose when Trump, the 2024 frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, had his phone open and was logged into Twitter on Jan. 6, 2021 — the day of the riots at the US Capitol and the certification of the election results.
The Spin
Anti-Trump narrative
This is blockbuster news for prosecutors and everyone who wants to see Trump face repercussions for his attempts to usurp democracy. With this data and the expert testimony, Smith will be able to trace every action Trump made leading up to and on Jan. 6, and also detail who had access to the accounts that were inciting the rioters.
Pro-Trump narrative
Regardless of what Jack Smith claims to have and what his so-called evidence is going to show, this case — and all the cases against Trump — are just attempts by the US Dept. of Justice and other partisan prosecutors to interfere in the 2024 election in favor of Pres. Joe Biden. Smith is unethical, and it's about time Republicans stood up to him on behalf of their probable presidential nominee.
