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Former President Donald Trump made a mistake by recently criticizing special counsel Jack Smith, according to former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner.
"I think this is a real miscalculation if Donald Trump somehow thinks that he is going to intimidate or deter Jack Smith from bringing the crimes that are supported by the evidence," Kirschner said during an appearance on The Legal Breakdown with Brian Tyler Cohen. "I think Donald Trump has got another thing coming."
Kirschner's comments came during a discussion about a series of Truth Social posts by Trump in which he criticized Smith, who was named a special counsel to oversee two Department of Justice investigations into Trump. Smith will oversee the investigation into the confidential documents Trump allegedly took from the White House to his Mar-a-Lago residence. The second investigation involves Trump's alleged connection to the riot at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
"Jack Smith (nice, soft name, isn't it?), is a political hit man, who is totally compromised, and shouldn't be allowed anywhere near our already highly WEAPONIZED & CORRUPT 'Justice' Department and FBI, which are stuffed with, and listening to, Radical Left 'MONSTERS,' who will cause difficulties for our Country the likes of which we have not seen before," Trump wrote in a recent Truth Social post.
In several other posts, Trump spoke about Smith's family, including one post in which he mentioned Smith's wife, Katy Chevigny, and included screenshots of her applauding President Joe Biden's win in the 2020 election.
"Donald Trump's threats against Jack Smith's family members might very well support an obstruction of justice charge," Kirschner said in the interview. "He's trying to corruptly interfere in the administration of justice and obstructing justice is a 20-year federal felony. It might also constitute interfering or impeding with the official duties of a government employee or official."
Kirschner made similar comments toward Trump this week after the former president posted about taking documents from the White House to Mar-a-Lago.
"When will you invade Bill and Hillary's home in search of the 33,000 emails she deleted AFTER receiving a subpoena from the U.S. Congress..."When will you invade the other Presidents' homes in search of documents, which are voluminous, which they took with them, but not nearly so openly and transparently as I did?" Trump questioned in a Truth Social post.
In response, Kirschner said that Trump "just admitted that he took the documents openly, transparently and therefore knowingly."
"Glenn is a notorious trafficker of wild conspiracy theories and dubious legal analysis," Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for Trump's 2024 campaign, previously told Newsweek in a statement. "I would expect nothing more from a clout-chasing MSNBC contributor."
Newsweek reached out to Trump's campaign for further comment.
About the writer
Matthew Impelli is a Newsweek staff writer based in New York. His focus is reporting social issues and crime. In ... Read more