Trump's niece Mary slams him for calling Jack Smith's newly publicized filing 'election interference'
WASHINGTON, DC: Donald Trump faced accusations from his niece, Mary L Trump, that he is responsible for the timing of Jack Smith's recent bombshell filing, which alleged the former president interfered in the 2020 election.
US District Judge Tanya Chutkan unsealed 165 pages of evidence on October 2, which supported the claims that he interfered with elections, which Trump repeatedly denied.
Jack Smith files more evidence against Donald Trump
Special Counsel Jack Smith’s new filing in the case, the trial of which was originally scheduled to begin in April, against Donald Trump has revealed several new allegations while aligning with the Supreme Court immunity ruling that presidents can't be prosecuted for official acts.
One of the key revelations is a conversation between Trump and Mike Pence, where the former president asked the vice president not to certify President Joe Biden's election victory on January 6, 2021.
Other details in the filing include messages from Trump operatives allegedly encouraging unrest among supporters outside the counting center.
After the filing was made public, Trump accused Smith and the Department of Justice (DOJ) of election interference.
"Deranged Jack Smith, the hand-picked Prosecutor of the Harris-Biden DOJ, and Washington, D.C.-based Radical Left Democrats, are HELL BENT on continuing to Weaponize the Justice Department in an attempt to cling to power," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
Donald Trump claims DOJ is targeting him with Jack Smith’s new filing
Following the release of Jack Smith’s new filing against Donald Trump, the 78-year-old politician went on to say that the timing of the filing was orchestrated to affect the upcoming election.
He claimed the Department of Justice timed the filing right after the vice-presidential debate in which JD Vance, his running mate, was considered to have performed well.
"The DOJ pushed out this latest 'hit job' today because JD Vance humiliated Tim Walz last night in the Debate," Trump stated.
Trump described Smith’s actions as a case of election interference, referring to a commentary by Fox News' Gregg Jarrett.
"This is a case of Election interference by Jack Smith. Old information that should not have been released prior to the Election," Trump wrote.
Mary Trump criticizes Donald Trump, says he is to blame himself
Mary Trump, however, pointed the finger back at her uncle, Donald Trump, claiming that his actions were responsible for the timing of Jack Smith’s filing.
In a blog post, she wrote that Trump's repeated attempts to delay the trial are to blame for the proximity of the release to the election.
"So, if Donald wants to blame somebody for the fact that Smith's filing was made public so close to the election, he just needs to look in the mirror," Mary said in her blog.
Smith’s team also argued that the former president's conduct was a private criminal effort, not an official presidential act, adding that Trump pressured Pence to reject Electoral College votes during the January 6 riot.
"When the defendant lost the 2020 presidential election, he resorted to crimes to try to stay in office," Smith's filing said according to CBS News.
It also eliminates all references to Trump as the 45th President of the United States, instead referring to him simply as a "presidential candidate."
Experts claim Jack Smith is not involved in making filing public
David Weinstein, a former federal prosecutor, now a partner at Jones Walker law firm, told Newsweek, "Yet again, he [Donald Trump] is not correct."
He mentioned that the docket entries from September 5 indicated Judge Chutkan had mandated the government to submit its briefing by September 26. The court clerk was instructed to file the briefing publicly on September 27.
"Jack Smith had nothing to do about when the pleading was made public," Weinstein said.
Temple University Charles Klein professor of law and government, Craig Green, told the publication, "Judge Chutkan's decision to unseal, and the timing of the decision to unseal, were hers alone—nothing to do with Jack Smith..."
He suggested, that Chutkan gave Trump lawyers "every opportunity" to "object and be heard."
"Jack Smith has been pushing to get this case tried for two years. It is Trump who has sought delay after delay...," former federal prosecutor Peter Zeidenberg told the publication, adding, "Now he is complaining that the litigation is still ongoing."
