‘Private Criminal Effort’: Jack Smith Lays Out Why Trump’s Elections Case Should Go Forward

The filing foreshadows what kind of evidence prosecutors could be expected to present at a criminal trial.

Special counsel Jack Smith
Special counsel Jack Smith’s filing was the result of the Supreme Court’s expansive definition of presidential immunity. Jacquelyn Martin/AP

A federal judge on Wednesday unsealed a highly anticipated report from Department of Justice special counsel Jack Smith, which lays out why prosecutors think Donald Trump was acting far outside his official duties when he pushed to overturn the 2020 election results.

“At its core, [Trump’s] scheme was a private criminal effort,” they wrote, adding that he “used deceit to target every stage of the electoral process.”

The filing foreshadows what kind of evidence prosecutors expect to present at what would be the first ever federal criminal trial of a former president — if it ever happens.