Jack Goldsmith, a Harvard law professor and former Justice Department official, said Wednesday that Special Counsel Jack Smith's rush to try former President Donald Trump before the 2024 election is “grossly unfair.” ” and may violate Department of Justice (DOJ) regulations.

President Trump's appeal to dismiss election interference claims under executive privilege comes before the Supreme Court again, just months after the justices denied Smith's request to take up the matter quickly without allowing it to be heard by an appeals court. That would have speeded up Trump's trial. Mr. Smith's rush to bring the former president to justice appears to violate the law. Department of Justice Regulations The law prohibits prosecutors from choosing the timing of their actions not only for “the purpose of influencing elections,” but also for “the normal rules of fairness to defendants,” Goldsmith said. Ta. Said In Wednesday's Law column.

“If this was a defendant other than Donald Trump, Trump's legal team would not have been given sufficient time to prepare a defense, and rushing a trial would be seen as highly unfair,” Goldsmith said. said. “Prosecutors and judges typically give defendants significantly more time in smaller trials where the charges are less serious.”

Goldsmith wrote that the potential fallout from rushing the case “goes far beyond a simple violation of Department of Justice rules.” (Related article: This is a make-or-break week for President Trump's four criminal cases)

“If Trump is convicted, we lose the election, even if President Biden's Justice Department violated norms in rushing Trump's trial (and not giving Trump enough time to prepare).” “The results of trials and elections may be considered guilty if they are deemed to be illegal and unfair in about half of the countries.” “…the damage from this result to our institutions—to our belief in the legitimacy of the presidential election process, to the integrity of the Department of Justice and to the possibility of apolitical justice—is immeasurable and potentially serious. is very high. us for a long time.”

Jack Smith's rush to prosecute Trump for the events of January 6th violates Justice Department rules. The Supreme Court now faces the question of whether it should also be party to this rush, and if not, how to avoid it.https://t.co/wFbHrkTv5F

— Jack Goldsmith (@jacklgoldsmith) February 14, 2024

The proceedings in Trump's case are pending an appeal of presidential immunity, and a judge has already decided Empty Scheduled trial date: March 4. The speed with which the Supreme Court now resolves the issue will determine when the district court case can proceed.

“Typically, if the court approves at this stage, we would begin oral arguments in April and issue a decision by late June,” he said. “If the court had proceeded sooner, the only possible basis for doing so would be the political reasons motivating Smith to rush to trial, as discussed above. It is difficult to understand why they would want to change their normal operations and associate themselves with the consequences and responsibility for the consequences of their haste.”

In any case, “any decisions the court makes regarding the flurry of legal proceedings related to Mr. Trump's case could impact the election,” he said.

“In this extremely unprecedented situation, we hope that the court will, to the extent possible, follow the rules and principles it would follow if one of the parties to the case were not the indicted Donald Trump running for president.”Gold Mr. Smith wrote.

The justices asked Smith to comply with Trump's request by February 20 to put on hold the D.C. Circuit's ruling that Trump lacks immunity.

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