On Truth Social, Donald Trump is adamant that the conspiracy goes all the way to the top — that special counsel Jack Smith was appointed to be President Joe Biden’s attack dog, aiming to damage his candidacy with more criminal convictions ahead of the November election. In court, though, Trump’s legal team argued last week that Smith is actually a prosecutor gone rogue, so stridently asserting his independence that, per attorney Emil Bove, he and his team effectively constitute a “shadow government.”
Even U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, the Trump appointee overseeing his classified documents case, appeared to think that the claim was a stretch, commenting: “That sounds very ominous.” But even if Cannon is not prepared to declare Smith’s entire existence invalid, affirming the defense argument that the appointment of any special counsel is unconstitutional, last Friday’s hearing raised an all-important question in the minds of legal experts observing the case: What are we even doing here?
