Earlier this month, special counsel Jack Smith took a covert action that may help former President Donald Trump in his ‘election interference’ lawsuit, which is scheduled to begin on January 6.
People who talked with The New York Times said that Smith seemed to be concluding his probe into whether Trump’s campaign presented false election claims against Joe Biden following the 2020 election, misleading investors.
As part of their investigation into whether Mr. Trump’s political and fund-raising operations committed any crimes as he sought to stay in power after he lost the election, his prosecutorial team has “quietly withdrawn a subpoena seeking records from” Trump’s 2020 campaign, two sources told the Times.
The subpoena to the Trump campaign was essentially withdrawn this week by the office of Special Counsel Jack Smith, the Times said, “in response to the withdrawal of a similar subpoena to Save America, the political action committee that Mr. Trump’s aides formed shortly after he lost the race in 2020.”
The Save America PAC suggests that it is concluding its investigation into whether the former president broke any laws when he claimed the 2020 election was rigged to benefit himself. The Times also suggested that Smith’s office is withdrawing the subpoenas it had served to Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.
The Times said that Trump’s political operation raised nearly $250 million off of claims that the 2020 election was stolen—claims that were never proven to be accurate.
“Trump’s team has long maintained that the financial inquiry by Mr. Smith’s office would struggle to yield any charges. Political fund-raising materials often engage in bombast or exaggeration, and a fine line exists between criminal behavior and solicitations protected by the First Amendment,” The Times noted.
Judge Aileen Cannon denied the former president’s attorney’s request to have the case, which is scheduled to begin in May 2024, moved until after the 2024 presidential election.
The motion was “denied without prejudice,” but it will be given consideration again at a scheduling conference set for March 1, 2024.