Special Counsel lays out Jan. 6 case against Trump

"He resorted to crimes to try to stay in office"

Also in today’s edition of “Regular Order” for October 3, 2024:

• Prosecutors have Trump’s phone with his Jan. 6 activity.

• Biden and Harris see storm damage.

• Odd rumblings in the Nebraska Senate race.

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TRUMP CASE. The legal troubles of Donald Trump returned with a vengeance on Wednesday, as a federal judge released a 165-page document which shed new light on Trump's effort to stay in power - even after being defeated by Joe Biden. "When the defendant lost the 2020 presidential election, he resorted to crimes to try to stay in office," Special Counsel Jack Smith wrote.

• IMMUNITY. The evidence presented by the Special Counsel was part of the arguments by federal prosecutors that Trump does not deserve immunity for his actions - arguing his conduct had nothing to do with being President. "This motion provides a comprehensive account of the defendant’s private criminal conduct," Smith added.

• FOUR POINTS. The Special Counsel summed it up this way: "At its core, the defendant's scheme was a private criminal effort...the defendant used deceit to target every stage of the electoral process." Smith said:

  • 1) Trump lied to state officials in order to get them to ignore true vote counts.

  • 2) Trump manufactured fraudulent electoral votes.

  • 3) Trump tried to get Pence to swing the election.

  • 4) And, 'When all else failed on January 6, 2021,” Trump directed “an angry crowd of supporters to the United States Capitol.”

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SO WHAT. While the storyline was familiar, there were all sorts of new nuggets tucked away in the Special Counsel filing. One of them included evidence from a White House aide who told Trump that Vice President Mike Pence had been rushed to safety because of the attack on the Capitol. “So what?” Trump reportedly replied.

• PHONE. The document indicates that prosecutors have had access to Trump's cellphone which he was using on Jan. 6, during the violence at the Capitol. "The phone's activity logs show that the defendant was using his phone, and in particular, using the Twitter application, consistently throughout the day."

• NO FRAUD. The evidence shows that Pence repeatedly told Trump that he didn't have any evidence of fraud to overturn the election, and tried to encourage him to move on - like on December 21, 2020, when he urged Trump to accept his loss and, 'take a bow.' Clearly, Trump did not listen to Pence.

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FAKE ELECTORS. I can't tell you how many times I've received nasty messages from Trump supporters blasting me for using the term 'fake electors.' Well, the evidence tucked into the Special Counsel's brief shows once again that Trump allies used exactly that term to describe what they were doing.

• EMAIL. In an email sent by Jack Wilenchik (P53), a private attorney working with Arizona Republicans - after he spoke to Ken Chesebro (CC5), the architect of the fake elector scheme - Wilenchik summed up Chesebro's plan to try to overturn Trump's election loss.

• P53. "My comment to him is that I guess there's no harm," Wilenchik wrote in an email to a series of Trump allies. "We would just be sending in 'fake' electoral votes to Pence." Wilenchik even conceded that the fake elector votes 'aren't legal under federal law.'

• PARLIAMENTARY NERD NOTE. On Christmas Day 2020, attorney Ken Chesebro - the architect of the fake elector scheme - proposed that Pence should override the rules and let Senators filibuster proceedings on states that Trump lost, and then just declare Trump the winner. Others weren’t sure Pence would do that. "Let's keep this off text for now," Trump aide Boris Epshteyn replied.

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TRUMP. As one might expect, Trump expressed outrage about the release of the evidence from his Jan. 6 case, as he accused the Special Counsel and the Justice Department of 'election interference.' "This entire case is a Partisan, Unconstitutional, Witch Hunt, that should be dismissed,” Trump said.

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NOT A SURPRISE. If you want to call this an October Surprise - don't. The only reason this information is coming out now is because of Trump's multiple appeals, the delays by the U.S. Supreme Court, and the Court's immunity ruling. This case was originally scheduled to go to trial on March 4.

• CHUTKAN. Federal Judge Tanya Chutkan must still decide if a trial can go forward for Trump on these election interference charges, as she weighs the recent Supreme Court decision, which drastically limited investigations of Trump. Obviously, if Trump wins in November - there certainly won’t be a trial.

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2020 WINNER. The Smith submission was released a day after a debate where Trump's conduct leading up to Jan. 6 made headlines for the candidates for Vice President. On the campaign trail, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) faced more questions about why he wouldn't answer a simple question on Tuesday night - who won the 2020 election?

• VANCE. "Here's the simple reason," Vance said during a stop in Michigan. "The media is obsessed with talking about the election of four years ago. I'm focused on the election of 33 days from now." That was basically Vance's answer a day before, which the Harris campaign quickly seized on.

• CONGRESS. Democrats were having none of that. "Donald Trump lost the 2020 election, and anyone who can't state it plainly can't be trusted to serve in federal office," said Rep. Brittany Pettersen (D-CO).

• GOLDEN STATE. "Here's my honest take," Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) said about the debate. "Vance was coming off as reasonable and even likable until he refused to admit that Trump lost the 2020 election. That undermined his whole night."

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STORM DAMAGE. President Biden is on the road again today in Florida and Georgia, meeting with emergency officials in states hit hard by Hurricane Helene. "I'm here to say the United States, the nation, has your back," Biden said in Raleigh, North Carolina. "We're not leaving until you're back on your feet."

• PALMETTO. Biden flew by helicopter over some of the damaged areas, and also met with officials in Greenville, South Carolina. "My heart goes out to everyone who has experienced the unthinkable loss, but we're here for you," Biden said. "There are no Democrats, Republicans, only Americans, and our job is to help as many people as we can."

• VPOTUS. While Biden was in the Carolinas, Vice President Harris went to Georgia, visiting with emergency officials in Augusta. "These are very difficult times," Harris said. "And in a moment of crisis, I think that really does bring out the best of who we are, and you each epitomize that important and good work."

• RESPONSE. While no disaster relief effort is perfect, the GOP complaints about the Biden/Harris Administration response have been drying up more each day. I don’t expect those attacks to go away - especially on social media - but things seem to be going in the right direction.

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DISASTER RELIEF. House Speaker Mike Johnson said Wednesday that he sees no need to bring Congress back into session before the election in order to send FEMA more resources for the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. But the Speaker did acknowledge more money will likely be needed for those relief and recovery operations.

• SPEAKER. "This is a big one," Johnson said in an interview on Fox News. "Look at the swath and the breadth of the damage across so many states," the Speaker added. "But it takes a while to assess the damage."

• DEFICIT. When it comes time to vote, it won't surprise me if a number of Republicans oppose extra disaster relief - because it would add to the deficit. The Speaker alluded to that on Wednesday. "We have to prioritize federal spending," the Speaker said. "We have a $35 trillion federal debt."

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AKSARBEN. Most of you couldn't name the Senator from Nebraska who is up for reelection in November. But it might be time to figure out how Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE) is doing, because we are starting to see a polling trend which might worry some inside the GOP.

• NEBRASKA. There is no doubt that Donald Trump is going to win the Cornhusker State. But Fischer - who has no Democratic opponent - is underperforming Trump. New polls have shown Independent Dan Osborn not only neck and neck with Fischer, but even leading her in the race for Senate.

• CAMPAIGN. A labor union leader known for leading a strike at the Kellogg's plant in Omaha, Osborn has been ratcheting up his attacks on Fischer. "This could be the upset of the decade," Osborn declared last week.

• SUNFLOWER. What do I think? I sort of wonder if I've seen this movie before. Why do I say that? Because back in 2014, I went to Kansas just before Election Day to check on veteran Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS), who was trailing Independent Greg Orman. Then Roberts won by almost 11 percent. Let's see what happens.

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SUNSHINE. The Senate race in Florida has been fairly quiet, though Democrats are trying to funnel more money to ex-Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell for her challenge to Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL). In her latest ad, Mucarsel-Powell brings up an issue which is very much on the minds of Florida residents these days - the cost of property insurance.

• INSURANCE. "Rick Scott sold us out," Mucarsel-Powell says in her newest ad, which tries to tie Scott - a former Governor - to the current insurance situation in Florida. "And now your property insurance bill is four times the national average. It has to stop."

TACTIC. Frankly, I'm surprised that Democrats haven't harped on this issue before, because if you know anyone from Florida, insurance is definitely a hot button topic as companies drop customers and raise prices. "Another hurricane, more devastation, and Rick Scott is only making it worse," the ad says.

• SOLUTIONS. Honestly, I'm not sure Democrats have any legitimate ideas on how to solve this insurance crisis in Florida - but if you want to point fingers, remember this - the GOP has been in charge in Florida for over two decades. Since Jeb Bush won the race for Governor in 1998, it’s been all Republicans.

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RAP SHEET. Two brothers from Pennsylvania have pleaded guilty to felony charges for their actions on Jan. 6. Matthew and Andrew Valentin helped push a metal barricade into a line of police outside the Capitol, allowing rioters to advance on the building. They later rushed a line of officers, with one trying to grab a police baton. Later the other brother threw a chair at police.

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MUSE OF HISTORY.  October 3, 1913.  On this date, the Senate began its work by approving a House-passed resolution authorizing a federal exhibit at the Sixth National Corn Exposition in Dallas.  But there were strings attached.  The resolution said no money could be spent by the feds to transport that corn exhibit to Texas, and that no money could be spent on 'living expenses' for anyone sent by the Secretary of Agriculture to the Corn Exposition.

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LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:

The House next has votes on November 12.

The Senate comes back for votes on November 12.

Follow me on Twitter @jamiedupree.

Email me at jamiedupree@substack.com

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