Stefanik Accuses Jack Smith of Trying to Interfere with 2024 Election through Expedited Trump Trial

House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik has called for a probe by the ethics watchdog at the US justice department over allegations that special counsel Jack Smith is attempting to expedite former president Donald Trump’s criminal case in order to interfere with the 2024 election.
In an official complaint submitted on Tuesday, Ms Stefanik accused Mr Smith of pushing for a trial start date far ahead of the next presidential vote and claimed he was failing to apply the law properly by seeking “to get President Trump – and get him before November”. She also alleged that his actions were bringing disrepute upon the justice department.
Ms Stefanik’s complaint cited several instances in which Mr Smith had petitioned a court for an early trial date, including one request made as far back as August 2023. The former president’s legal team objected to this proposed timetable because they said it would not give them enough time to review millions of pages of documents and thousands of hours of footage related to the January 6 insurrection in which Trump supporters invaded Capitol Hill amid allegations that President Biden was being fraudulently elected.
Ms Stefanik wrote: “Prosecutors bringing a case of this complexity – with so many consequential and novel legal issues to sort out – would normally never seek to bring it to trial within five months.” She accused Mr Smith of rejecting an application by Trump for dismissal on the basis that he was immune from prosecution because his actions were official ones.
Ms Stefanik’s complaint comes as the US supreme court is considering whether Donald Trump can claim presidential immunity over allegations that he subverted democracy in a bid to stay in power after losing last year’s election. The justices are expected to rule on this matter within 60 days, which could further delay Mr Trump’s trial if they decide some of his actions were official ones and therefore protected from prosecution as the leader of government at that time.
This is not the first time Ms Stefanik has intervened in legal matters relating to Donald Trump’s political future. She submitted a number of ethics complaints against judges involved in Mr Trump’s Jan 6 trial alleging “procedural errors”, according to press reports earlier this month. The Republican congresswoman from New York is the fourth-ranking House GOP leader and has been an outspoken supporter of Donald Trump since his election as president six years ago.
It remains unclear whether the justice department’s Office of Professional Responsibility will open a formal investigation into Ms Stefanik’s complaint against Mr Smith, according to press reports published yesterday.