First things first: I must stipulate that I am not a member of any Jack Smith Fan Club, nor do I intend to join one or form one in my North Texas neighborhood.
That all said, I now shall declare that Jack Smith’s standing among those of us looking for accountability and justice in the conduct of a former POTUS has shot into the stratosphere.
The meme that showed up on my social media feed suggests that there might have been a chance that special counsel Jack Smith might “fear” Donald Trump. Not … a … chance!
The good news about Smith, though, is that he isn’t going to seek affirmation for doing his job. Attorney General Merrick Garland selected Smith to lead this investigation because the AG didn’t want to become entangled in a case involving the current POTUS, Joe Biden, and the man he defeated in the 2020 election.
Smith has done his duty with zero leaks, with little fanfare and with a maximum degree of professionalism. Yet those aspects of the job he has done has elevated the special counsel to hero status. Go figure.
The former president has managed to get Republicans in Congress to knuckle under to his threats. Not so with Jack Smith, who in reality has no more cause to stand firm against Trump than the sycophants who kowtow to Trump within the GOP House caucus.
Yes, I get that House GOP members face the prospect of losing their seats in primary elections. But they take oaths to defend the Constitution, not to march in lockstep behind a cult leader.
Jack Smith took a similar oath when he took on the role of special counsel. His loyalty to his oath, therefore, has given him an exalted status only because he is doing the job he signed on to do.