Update on S/C Jack Smith’s January 6 investigative work with
an intense focus on December 14 – a day of special interest to him and his prosecutors
reported on here from SALON.com with their article report
headline (formatted to fit the blog):
“Jack Smith is digging into Trump's bizarre post-election Oval Office
meeting”
Special counsel Jack
Smith's team has reportedly bolstered its interest in an infamous Oval Office
meeting held at the eleventh
hour of Trump's presidency, during which the former president fielded proposals
of desperate methods to keep him in office despite his White House
counsel's objections.
Investigators have questioned witnesses before the grand
jury and during interviews about the meeting, which occurred six weeks after Trump
lost the 2020 election, multiple sources told CNN.
Some witnesses were initially asked about the meeting
several months ago. Others, like Rudy Giuliani, were questioned about the
meeting more recently. Giuliani, in particular, conferred with investigators
for two days last month in a voluntary interview about an array of topics,
including the December 18, 2020 meeting he attended.
Prosecutors have specifically taken interest in three
external Trump advisors who were present at the meeting: (1) Former Trump
lawyer Sidney Powell, (2) ex-Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne, and (3) former NSA advisor
Michael Flynn.
Giuliani's lawyer, a
lawyer for Powell, and a lawyer for Byrne all declined CNN's request for
comment on this story.
Both Powell and Byrne spoke extensively under oath with the
House select committee that investigated the January 6 insurrection.
Flynn declined to answer the committee's questions citing
the Fifth Amendment numerous times.
CNN reports: “The special counsel's sustained interest in the
chaotic episode comes as Smith's team appears to be nearing charging decisions
in the investigation into efforts to overturn the election results. Investigators
are still gathering evidence, reaching out to several new witnesses in recent
weeks and working to schedule interviews.”
That tense December 2020 Oval Office meeting descended into
chaos as Trump's outside advisors went toe-to-toe with top West Wing lawyers in
a heated debate about a plan to have the military seize voting machines in the
key states Trump had lost in the election. The meeting attendees also considered
naming Powell as special counsel to investigate alleged voter fraud, as well as
Trump invoking martial law in an effort to subvert the election results.
Attendees shouted and
hurled insults, and Trump capped off the night by tweeting that an upcoming
protest of the election results on January
6, 2021, in Washington, D.C. “Will be wild.”
The special counsel prosecutor's list of witnesses questioned
about the meeting includes Former NSA Robert O'Brien, who — according to a
transcript of his deposition released by the panel — told the House select
committee that he joined the December meeting by phone after it had devolved.
CNN said: “The
consistent emphasis on the December 18 Oval Office meeting appears to overlap
with the special counsel's broader effort to hone in on the actions of several
Trump lawyers and allies during the period from December 14, 2020, to January
6, 2021.”
I NOTE: This date: December 14 is also now called the “Fake Elector Plot,” and it is of special interest to prosecutors.
That date is marked by a host of alternate (fake)
Republican electors in seven battleground states falsely certifying that Trump
had won the election, and a meeting of EC members in every state to
officially cast their ballots, ultimately confirming in fact that Joe Biden was
the winner with 306 electoral votes compared to Trump's 232.
The efforts to recruit the
unlawful (fake) electors, have them sign certificates falsely affirming Trump's
win, and use them to pressure then-VP Mike Pence to stymie the certification of
Biden's electoral college win on January 6 have been a primary focus for
investigators during the probe.
Also, in recent weeks, at least one witness confirmed to the
Special Counsel's team that Trump allies had asked Pence to cast doubt on the
legitimacy of Biden's electors in the seven battleground states over supposed
widespread voter fraud, and turn over the decision of certification to the
states themselves.
My 2 Cents: Not much to
add to this fine story coverage by SALON and CNN, but of course more will be
coming out as time goes by for sure.
The B/L to me is simple & hopefully to you, too: Trump and a close knit number close to him are
plainly guilty of serious crimes the least of which include (1) an attempted
coup to overthrow the government; (2) an insurrection storming the Nation’s Capitol
on January 6; and falsely overturning the legitimate 2020 election to favor
Trump, who lose by over 7 million votes.
All that is a sad dark
time in our nation’s history and no one is to blame more so than Trump – the facts
and evidence prove that beyond any reasonable doubt and he must be tried,
convicted, and given a serious prison sentence… otherwise who know what the
future holds for us and that my friends concerns me more than anything else.
Thanks for stopping by.
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