Breccan Thies writes for the Federalist about interesting revelations from a recent congressional hearing.
Democrats have every intention of restarting lawfare against President Donald Trump and his allies the very moment he leaves office, and Republicans need to start taking that threat seriously.
At a Thursday hearing of the House Judiciary Committee, where the sole witness was get-Trump lawfare specialist Jack Smith, the former special counsel who brought bogus charges against Trump twice, Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., said the quiet part out loud in an exchange with Smith.
“Those indictments have been dismissed. Can they be re-brought or resurrected after this, after Trump leaves office?” Johnson asked.
“They were dismissed without prejudice,” Smith replied.
Johnson then pushed harder, stating, “So they can be re-filed, and he can be prosecuted after he leaves office. Is that correct?”
Smith declined to answer that question, but inherent in dismissing a case without prejudice is the ability to refile. Doing so merely put prosecution of Trump on hold while he has higher legal protections as president.
Other Democrats at the hearing danced around the issue.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., had an exchange with Smith suggesting the effort to get Trump is not over because Trump has yet to be “held accountable,” and that the future of the country will depend on going after him in order to maintain legitimacy:
JAYAPAL: “How would you describe the toll on our democracy if we do not hold a president accountable for attempting to steal an election?”
SMITH: “My belief is that if we do not hold the most powerful people in our society to the same standards of the rule of law, it can be catastrophic, because if they don’t have to follow the law, it’s very easy to understand why people would think they don’t have to follow the law as well.”
