Attorney Alan Dershowitz praised special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation of former President Donald Trump in an op-ed on Sunday, claiming Smith’s case against Trump is “stronger” than expected.
Dershowitz said the strength of the case rests on the thoroughness of the investigation and the former president’s response to it.
ELECTION OF GOVERNORS: GUBERNATORIAL RECORDS OF SIX 2024 REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES
“What should have begun as a routine civil investigation under the Presidential Records Act has ended up with a multicount criminal indictment, the first federal prosecution ever of a former president or a leading candidate for the presidency,” Dershowitz wrote for the Wall Street Journal. “This is partially because prosecutors targeted Trump and partially because of the unwise way he responded.”
Dershowitz said that although Smith did his job “well” in investigating Trump, the former president’s attacks on Smith and his investigation strengthened the case. It is also part of what made Trump’s case different than similar investigations into President Joe Biden, and former Vice President Mike Pence.
“Had the former president cooperated with investigators and immediately returned all the classified material in his possession, as Messrs. Biden and Pence did, charges would have been unlikely,” Dershowitz claimed. “But Mr. Trump did what he always does. He attacked Mr. Smith and resisted his efforts. That provoked investigators to double down, which in turn led Mr. Trump to engage in the allegedly obstructive conduct that forms the basis for several counts in the indictment.”
Dershowitz added that part of what made the case against Trump, who is accused of mishandling classified documents, so strong is the recording of the former president seemingly admitting that he possessed secret documents he did not declassify.
“This is secret information. Look, look at this.” Trump said in the recording. “See, as president I could have declassified it … Now I can’t, you know, but this is still a secret.”
Dershowitz also noted that the case against Trump was not as strong as Watergate, which caused the resignation of former President Richard Nixon in 1974. But Dershowitz admitted that the case was stronger than even he expected.
“The question remains: Is it strong enough to justify an indictment of the leading candidate to challenge the president in next year’s election?” the attorney posed. “When an incumbent administration prosecutes the leading candidate against the president, it should have a case that is so compelling that it attracts the kind of bipartisan support that forced Nixon to resign. No such support is currently apparent, since many Republicans continue to be troubled by the targeting of Mr. Trump.”
Dershowitz represented Trump in his 2020 impeachment trial. Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives at the time but was not removed from office by the Senate.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Trump faces 37 federal charges related to the alleged mishandling of classified documents that were found at his Mar-a-Lago resort. The Justice Department unveiled a 49-page indictment of Trump on Friday, which included charges related to the Espionage Act, making false claims, and conspiracy to obstruct justice.
Trump will appear at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida on Tuesday, June 13.
