In a recent development, Democratic Senator Adam Schiff of California has criticized President-elect Trump's audacious request to Attorney General Merrick Garland to prevent the disclosure of special counsel Jack Smith's final report on his classified documents and election interference cases.
Schiff expressed his astonishment during an appearance on MSNBC's "The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell," stating, They have no shortage of chutzpah. No shortage of nerve.
According to The Hill, Schiff further commented on the potential implications if Garland were to comply with Trump's request. But for the Attorney General to grant it, I think, would be indefensible for the reasons that you mentioned, he remarked. The report, which is divided into two volumes, could be made public as early as this Friday, unless Garland decides to seal the documents.
Schiff, who played a significant role during Trump's second impeachment trial and was a member of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, emphasized the historical precedence and public right to access such reports. Historically, these reports are made public. These reports and the investigation underlying them are funded with taxpayer dollars and the public has a right to know, he asserted.
The senator also expressed his disbelief at the Justice Department's inability to bring the case to trial within four years. It is astonishing to me as we sit here, Lawrence, the crime was committed four years ago, and in four years time, the Justice Department could not bring that offense to trial, not as against the main perpetrator in Donald Trump, he said.
The report, which Trump's team has had the opportunity to review, outlines his attempts to obstruct the peaceful transfer of power following the 2020 election and the storage of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida after his departure from the White House.
In a countermove, Trump's legal team has requested Garland to dismiss Smith, who has already agreed to resign before Trump's return to the Oval Office. They proposed that the decision on the report's release should be made by the incoming attorney general of the president-elect.
The special counsel has also dismissed the cases against the President-elect, citing a Justice Department policy against prosecuting a sitting President. However, Schiff urged Garland to reject the Trump team's request, warning of the consequences of burying the report. If the attorney general were to decide here to allow this report to be buried, the lack of justice would be followed with a lack of any kind of accountability by the Department of Justice for those most responsible for inciting that violence, he stated.
Schiff further suggested that the evidence gathered by Smith should be preserved in archives or a public record to deter any attempts to conceal or destroy it. This, he believes, will raise the bar for those who might otherwise seek to bury or destroy it.
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