Donald Trump posted a new meme on Truth Social and it featured Will Smith.
According to Poynter, Allies of former President Donald Trump are coming to his defense in anticipation of a potential second federal indictment, with claims that special counsel Jack Smith has a partisan bias against Republicans. U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., is among those trying to discredit Smith, stating that he is a “lousy attorney” with a history of mistrials, overturned cases, and judicial rebukes. However, it’s important to note that these claims are based on opinions, and Smith’s record as a prosecutor has had both wins and losses, as is typical for any public corruption prosecutor.
Greene’s assertion that Smith “only targets Republicans” is inaccurate. Smith was appointed by U.S. Attorney Merrick Garland in November to investigate Trump’s actions, not because he chose to target Trump, but because of Trump’s announcement that he was running for president and President Joe Biden’s expected re-election campaign. As a special counsel, Smith was hired to lead specific investigations involving Trump and was not the one who initiated the targeting process.
Smith has a long and distinguished career as a prosecutor, starting in New York in the 1990s. From 2010 to 2015, he served as the chief of the Justice Department’s public integrity section, where he pursued cases against politicians from both major parties. During his tenure, Smith was involved in prosecuting Democratic senators, such as former Sens. John Edwards of North Carolina and Bob Menendez of New Jersey.
In 2011, Smith was among the prosecutors who signed the indictment against John Edwards in a scheme to violate federal campaign finance laws during his 2008 presidential campaign. Edwards was accused of conspiring with others to receive campaign contributions that exceeded federal limits to hide an extramarital affair and resulting pregnancy. The case ended in a mistrial in 2012, and the Justice Department decided not to retry it.
In 2015, Smith was also involved in the indictment of Bob Menendez, who was accused of accepting gifts from a Florida ophthalmologist in exchange for using his Senate office to benefit the ophthalmologist’s financial and personal interests. The trial ended in a hung jury in 2017, and the Justice Department chose not to retry the case.
