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(Picture by Tom Brenner for The Washington Publish by way of Getty Photographs)
New York Rep. Elise Stefanik took a break yesterday from pretending to care about Jewish undergrads to vomit out one more demand to talk to the supervisor … this time of the Justice Division.
She’s already staged publicity stunts attacking New York Supreme Courtroom Justice Arthur Engoron for being mean to Donald Trump and US District Choose Beryl Howell for not being mean to Democrats. And now she desires the DOJ to do one thing about Particular Counsel Jack Smith. Or, as she refers to him, “Biden particular counsel Jack Smith.”
In a letter addressed to Jeffrey Ragsdale, a profession Justice Division official who serves as counsel to the Workplace of Skilled Duty, the congresswoman demanded an ethics investigation of Smith for “abusing the assets of the federal authorities to unlawfully intrude with the 2024 presidential election.”
Her concept is that the particular counsel violated the DOJ’s prohibition on “choose[ing] the timing of any motion, together with investigative steps, prison prices, or statements, for the aim of affecting any election, or for the aim of giving a bonus or drawback to any candidate or political social gathering.”
How did he try this?
Properly, he requested a trial date in January of 2024, which is eight months earlier than the election and would have ensured that the case was concluded effectively earlier than the marketing campaign obtained underway. However, see, that’s election interference, as a result of “The one cause to push for such an early trial date was to work to get the case tried earlier than the November election, and the Justice Division Handbook clearly forbids Jack Smith from taking any motion on that foundation.”
An unknowing observer may word {that a} scheduling movement is neither an investigative step, nor a prison cost. It’s not even an announcement, like, say, if the AG hyped an investigation into non-existent poll fraud in Pennsylvania six weeks earlier than a presidential election. However Congress Karen scoffs that the availability applies to all “actions,” together with post-indictment motions taken within the regular course of a federal prosecution. (She fails to say that the availability which mentions “actions” merely requires a prosecutor to seek the advice of with the Public Integrity Part and/or the Lawyer Normal.)
Stefanik can be extremely indignant that the particular counsel petitioned the Supreme Courtroom for certiorari earlier than judgment on the difficulty of absolute presidential immunity for all crimes taken in workplace, after which, when that failed, urged the Courtroom to just accept the thorough holding of the DC Circuit and remand the case for trial. And she or he insists that he violated the trial court docket’s keep order by persevering with to adjust to discovery obligations earlier than it grew to become clear that the Supreme Courtroom’s conservatives have been going to make rattling positive that Donald Trump by no means sees the within of a federal courtroom. Right here on Planet Earth, Choose Tanya Chutkan already ruled that the particular counsel didn’t violate the keep order, so the suggestion that he violated D.C. Rule of Skilled Conduct 3.4(c)’s prohibition on “knowingly disobey[ing] an obligation underneath the foundations of a tribunal” would look like DOA.
However, “your workplace ought to open an investigation into Biden particular counsel Jack Smith’s obvious violations of Justice Division requirements and his different moral duties, in Biden particular counsel Jack Smith’s apparent try to politicize his prison prosecution and unlawfully intrude within the 2024 presidential election,” concluded Stefanik — or whichever MAGA intern tapped out this POS letter.
After which, the true work started! They shortly dispatched the missive to its actual meant recipients at Fox, the Washington Examiner, the New York Post, and The Hill, earlier than trumpeting their nice accomplishment on the congresswoman’s website.
Little doubt Mr. Ragland will give Rep. Stefanik’s grievance all the eye it deserves — simply because the New York State Fee on Judicial Conduct and Chief Choose Sri Srinivasan did along with her prior tattle stunts.
Liz Dye lives in Baltimore the place she produces the Legislation and Chaos substack and podcast.
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