President Joe Biden and White House Press Secretary Karine Jean Pierre continue to insist Special Counsel Jack Smith's repeated indictments of former President Donald Trump are being conducted "independently" and without political bias or pressure.
But a story from the New York Times published in April 2022 is gaining new attention, especially after Smith indicted Trump for speech surrounding the events of January 6, 2021 last week.
"The attorney general’s deliberative approach has come to frustrate Democratic allies of the White House and, at times, President Biden himself. As recently as late last year, Mr. Biden confided to his inner circle that he believed former President Donald J. Trump was a threat to democracy and should be prosecuted, according to two people familiar with his comments. And while the president has never communicated his frustrations directly to Mr. Garland, he has said privately that he wanted Mr. Garland to act less like a ponderous judge and more like a prosecutor who is willing to take decisive action over the events of Jan. 6," the paper reported.
Look what was buried deep in the pages of the New York Times this April.
— Kayleigh McEnany (@kayleighmcenany) August 5, 2023
Joe Biden’s view of a prospective Trump indictment… pic.twitter.com/mFalcNRSYU
More than a year later and at the beginning of the 2024 presidential election, the Department of Justice has fulfilled President Joe Biden's demands Trump be indicted over January 6.
BREAKING: J6 Grand Jury Delivers Indictment https://t.co/UNLGPJ5DuY
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) August 1, 2023
George Washington University Law Professor Jonathan Turley explains why that could backfire.
Trump was not charged with sedition or even seditious conspiracy. Nor was he charged with conspiracy to incitement or insurrection, the grounds for his second impeachment.
However, if Biden does view this case as personal, as CNN suggests, he might be right for the wrong reason. That’s because the case being constructed against Trump by Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith could prove a serious problem for Biden, too — particularly as the basis for a House impeachment inquiry.
The latest Trump indictment, based on little new evidence and even less established law, faces a major threshold challenge under the First Amendment. Smith is seeking to criminalize what constitutes disinformation, which not only runs against the grain of the First Amendment but also prior cases. That includes United States v. Alvarez, which overturned the conviction of a politician for knowingly lying about his military background.
There is a wicked twist in all of this for Biden. The very controversial linchpin used against Trump could conceivably be used against Biden, particularly in the launching of an impeachment inquiry by House Republicans.