Cross your fingers folks. I just read that Jack Smith who wanted to testify publicly all along will be given the chance to do exactly that and before the end of the month. My only worry is that with his head so far up Trump’s ass “Gym” Jordan will have eaten so much “TACO” that he’ll go “JACO” – Jordan Always Chickens Out.
Still, this is welcome news and since the article from The Hill announcing it indicates Jordan didn’t deny it when asked for comment it might actually happen:
House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said he will invite former special counsel Jack Smith to testify publicly about his investigation into President Trump.
A source familiar said the former prosecutor could appear as soon as this month.
Jordan as you remember rejected Smith’s request to testify publicly in the first place. Something tells me Jordan knew he and his gang of fools wouldn’t fare well in the back and forth questions and answers. Even if like in the old days much of the questioning was handled by staff counsel Smith was more than a match for Republicans and Jordan knew it. The ONE thing they figured they had going for them was that Smith had a quite significant limitation placed on him (no) thanks to judge Aileen “Loose” Cannon. She’d issued an order preventing Smith from making any comments in any setting about fully half of his final report. Let’s remember how this is supposed to work and why Jordan is in a jam:
Special counsels traditionally appear for a public hearing once they’ve submitted their final report. Smith’s volume on Jan. 6, 2021, was released before Trump took office, but his report on the Mar-a-Lago documents case remains tied up in a legal battle as the president continues to oppose its release.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) said the insistence on a closed-door deposition “backfired in historic fashion” for the GOP.
GOPers, behind closed doors knew they could ask Smith questions he couldn’t fully answer. And, because Jordan withheld the transcript and interview for a while they and RWNJ pundits put out hyperbole about Smith. Claims he couldn’t back up his ‘accusations’, was ‘confused’, had to ‘admit he didn’t have evidence’ and so on. They tried. I read some of their crap and it all fell flat and just didn’t turn into a “thing” they way they hoped. So, Jordan reluctantly bowed to the inevitable and released the transcript and video. On freaking New Year’s Eve. That alone, that attempt to bury it that way told us all we needed to know.
Still, it’s worth mentioning that committee Democrats keep making the point that Smith wiped the floor with Republicans all day long. Jordan probably was that night patting himself on the back for ensuring the hearing was behind closed doors. It gave him and his cronies a chance to do what “Gym” hoped they would have to try and do which is sling enough bullshit and hope the whole thing went away.
However it didn’t and Jordan knew he’d eventually have to release the testimony so he chose to “get it over with” and hoped no one would notice his using the New Year’s Eve stunt. THAT didn’t work either and Smith (and his lawyer) kept making it clear he wanted to testify publicly. He might be thinking another crack at Smith and they will be able to fluster him. Given what Democrats on the committee like Jamie Raskin have to say that’s unlikely:
“Smith’s testimony confirmed that his office had a rock-solid case, based on irrefutable evidence, that Trump engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the 2020 election and willfully retained highly classified documents after leaving office,” Raskin said in a statement.
“Even with many hours of private testimony, Republicans could not lay a glove on Jack Smith, his evidence, or his case. That will not change now that they have finally heeded our call to have him come testify publicly.”
If you’ve watched even part of Smith’s testimony it’s a safe bet Republicans who think that having had a ‘practice round’ in private think in public Smith will crumble under the spotlight. I think they are badly mistaken. Behind closed doors he was calm and had a pretty relaxed demeanor, like a group of people having a debate and challenging someone who simply listened then calmly responded. In public I’m sure Smith will remain calm in the face of GOP mudslinging BUT this is a guy with major prosecutorial experience. He’ll bring THAT demeanor to a public hearing and pin back the ears of every GOPer on that panel.
Frankly I don’t know what the hell Jordan is thinking other than to publicly fall on his sword for Trump who needs a distraction. Both Epstein and Venezuela are major problems for Trump and some weak-assed flailing using the cover of judge Cannon’s gag order might for a day or two divert attention. I think Raskin is right. It will backfire. I think it will blow up into a ‘what is Trump/the DOJ hiding?’ mess that won’t be as big as the Epstein one but in the ballpark. Add in the Senate vote to rein in Trump on Venezuela and the likelihood enough GOPers in the House will likely join Democrats in doing the same there and Trump will find himself juggling THREE running chain saws!
Friends, I know everyone begs you for money. I promise, among all those asking for spare change, we are the smallest and the hardest working. We’re a group of old, disabled people, except for one writer in his mid-50s. The rest of us are in our sixties and seventies, and this is a labor of love. All we’re asking for is the chance to keep telling the truth about Trump and help ensure democracy survives. If you can help, please do. Thank you. Ursula
The Dunning-Kruger effect is so common with current republicans.
It’s almost like every statement they make about anything is prefaced with “How hard can it be?”
Then they show us they have no idea how hard because they have no ideas about how anything really works.
It wouldn’t surprise me if their tiny minds think they’ve come up with a gotcha question, and they’re giggling themselves silly at how it’s going to undo Smith. But the reality is: the higher their anticipation, the greater the fall.
Michelle’s right. I’ve always thought their “aim” was to get to uncover as much of Mr. Smith’s evidence as they could so as to try to “use it”. Given what I read in the two indictments and his closed door testimony, they will still have an uphill climb. Heck, all he has to do is keep correcting them when they say “alternate electors” “Excuse me, Congressman Jordan, that must be “fake elector illegal scheme.”