When will Volume 2 be published? How to obtain copies of each?
We need to have copies to keep as evidence of history. Real history, not alternative history. For example, I printed Project 2025, the report of the horrific schools that Indian children were forced into, the Torture Report @ Gitmo & etc and the recent Tulsa Massacre Report. I want to add Smith’s work to my history bookshelves.
We have to protect evidence of history from being destroyed during the next four years.
My understanding is that Garland will provide copies of Volume 2 to both parties’ representatives in the Judiciary Committees of both chambers of Congress. If Trump pardons the two remaining defendants or if the new AG drops the charges, there will be no reason for those copies to remain confidential because there will be no more pending cases.
Wow, good thinking. It may prevent Trump from pardoning them. Which in turn will hopefully make many people think twice about cooperating with Trump in the future.
Exactly. Pardon the minions since they'll never get anything close to an actual trial with bimbo Cannon, and then publicly release the report and all of the evidence and taunt the partisan hacks on the Robert's Kangaroo Court to whine that he did something outside of their magical immunity B.S.
"If Trump pardons the two remaining defendants..." That will be a litmus test for the Insulter-in-Chief -- damned if he does and damned if he doesn't...stay tuned!
I admire your tenacity and determination. Right now, it appears Vol. 2 may not be released for years, if at all. My hope is that it will at least be leaked by someone who will have access. The Republicans are very good at delay, delay, delay...destroy. I wish I thought otherwise, but here we are.
Why on God's green earth can't someone leak and publish Volume 2? There are plenty of precedents: Ellsberg, even Assange. What are they afraid of? We are going to swirl down the drain in a torrent of 20th century politeness. A blogster who goes by the name of God wrote today, You can't reason with a tiger when your head is in its mouth. He also wrote, "The old-guard establishment Democrats have failed us miserably... They demanded justice. They got none, because their leaders are ego-driven cowards, mentally living in some made-up halcyon world of yesteryear, in a me-damned episode of ‘The West Wing.’" And also, "You cannot bring a sternly worded letter to a gun fight. When will we learn?" His blog--it's short, pithy, razor-sharp, and wonderfully blasphemous-- is here:
Thank you for stating the issue about the Dems so eloquently.... been trying to phrase this since the election was lost and you nailed it. You should post this on FB! Too many good Americans are trying to find the place to be with the incredible "go high, when they go low" propaganda of peace making when we are dealing with vicious barbarians.
It won’t be. As has been widely reported, AG Garland has chosen *not* to release it, given that there are still charges against 2 of Trump’s flunkies (Nauta & De Oliveira) that are not being dismissed, as they are not bound by the DOJ policy of not prosecuting a sitting President.
Personally, I agree with many that have suggested Garland should have dropped those charges and released Volume 2, since the entire case was of such serious consequence that Americans should have been informed of all the details, particularly given that the Trump DOJ will immediately drop the cases anyway.
I’m really not sure what Garland’s reasoning is on that…..
Garland was nominated by Obama for the Supremes because he was an acceptable Republican who might believe in the Rule of Law. I don't know that that category still exists.
Fierce, I like it: Garland is "an acceptable Republican who might believe in the Rule of Law." So nicely Democratic--polite and ambiguous. Tom, your employment of the subjunctive is priceless. And, Tom, news flash: that category *doesn't* still exist.
Which is precisely *why* Garland should have dropped the soon-to-be-dropped-anyway charges against Nauta & De Oliveira and published Volume 2!
The only conceivable reason I can see is that it might well have caught everything up at the appellate or SCOTUS level and the delays could have kept BOTH volumes from being released prior to the Trump DOJ torching them….
I think, based on his own actions for 4 years, that Garland is a trump supporter and he very carefully laid the path for trump to return to the WH. I’m guessing Garland will be wearing a Presidential Medal of Freedom within six months.
I hold him, Biden, the six trump lapdogs on the bench and the entire crop of Corporate Democrats (led by Pelosi) responsible for trump’s return. Plus, of course, the pathetic cowards and outright fascist members of the RFP (Republican Fascist Party) along with the complicit mainstream media and the entire, unchecked far right state propaganda system (Fox, etc).
Tritler's return lies first and foremost with the spinless Senate R's who refused to impeach him in Jan 2021 even though they knew he was guilty. Tritler watched the chaos for 3 hours- 3 f-ing hours- when he had the ability to stop it in more ways than one. No president in my lifetime would have just watched, his inaction spoke volumes about his guilt. And yet he was not impeached by the Senate. The R's then had the ability to reject him as their main candidate, they could have walked from him, they did not.
I'm not sure where Biden, Pelosi and the "Corporate Democrats" fit in with helping with his return. Biden as president, and under the constant accusation of "political witch hunt" did the right thing in keeping out of it. He was busy doing what he was elected to do.
The actions of Biden, Pelosi and the Corporate Democrats that helped put trump back in the WH are easily researched and discussed. I’ve done that elsewhere. I won’t add all that here because I don’t want to hijack the thread.
yea the actions of being decent people, standing for America and not trying to rip us apart were very bad (SMH) I refuse to lay blame anywhere except where it belongs- spineless Repugs, uneducated voters, Russian bots and a biased media
Assume that Garland was not a Trump supporter as you suggest. How would he have acted differently and would you care to game out the possible consequences of those actions as well as the likelihood of Trump not being elected again?
Upside is that Vol. 1 - and eventually Vol. 2, let's not kid ourselves that Aileen Cannon, or even the Supremes can bury it - will now enter the historical record, further damning the entirety of the tRump era as one of unbounded criminality, flouting of established norms, and massive insults to constitutional law, full stop.
Oh, and the first felon to be sworn in as president..."First Felon", I like it!
Some one should read this report into the Congressional Record. And hopefully a copy has been given to President Biden so it is included in his official presidential records.
Our corporate democrats are doing nothing else. Why not instruct them to spend their worthless time reading this report into the Congressional Record, indeed? It will make a nice counterpart to the slaughtering of America going on in the next room. Put these developmentally-challenged men to work doing something their little minds can actually succeed at. It won't do us any good for a couple hundred years, but then maybe some historian in the future can empathize with us in 2326.
Things can be "read" into the Congressional Record by reference, as "Statements for the Record", which then appear in printed form in the official record.
Thank you for this thorough article. Too often I read accounts of more blame and in-fighting among those of us who are trying to figure out how to deal with this. Your article explains and informs without goading us to leap into the flames of more self-destruction. Now we have to stand strong and be actively opposed to what we know is wrong. The government is not going to save us. We hoped and we waited. We have to save the government. We have to help those who are vulnerable and in need and speak out against the corruption we are facing. This begins in our own communities. The rules have changed. The game is our lives. This is our time.
The idea that the DoJ cannot prosecute a sitting president for a crime is long past its prime. If no one is above the law, that includes a sitting President, former President, and President-elect.
The DoJ prosecutes people in Congress as well as state legislatures for federal crimes, so there is no reason not to treat everyone the same.
By treating some people as “special,” the DoJ merely solidifies the common view that we have a two-tiered system of justice. Because we obviously do.
Once again Jay, thank you for your insightful coverage. I very much appreciate your defense of Merrick Garland and Jack Smith. Too many armchair litigators are blaming one or both of them for the delay in prosecution. As you have pointed out, there were many factors that lay outside of their control, which contributed to the excessive delays. In such uncharted territory, prosecutors have to build an airtight case, which takes much time and effort. They were not twiddling their thumbs, rather they were pursuing evidence from those who were involved. The sheer number of prosecutions of 1/6 insurrectionists, and the court delays due to COVID, made it a long, difficult slog. These men should be commended for their dedication and persistence, not blamed for the failure of our judicial systems to address such unprecedented events. All of the blame sits squarely on the 45th president, starting with his appointment of corrupt SC Justices and continuing with his mishandling of the pandemic, causing millions of deaths and systemic breakdowns. Add to this his direct and indirect action leading to the insurrection and his constant efforts to delay, obfuscate and obstruct the process, all supported by oligarch billionaires and his depraved allies on the SC. Thanks for setting the record straight!
Smith admitted that his team could not find a case where someone had been charged for “inciting, assisting, or giving aid or comfort to rebellion or insurrection.” So, basically, they didn't level the worst charge because no one has ever been as criminally brazen as trump in his treasonous actions. I guess I shouldn't be surprised.
The right-wing majority Justices of the current Supreme Court who extended presidential immunity are as corrupt/bigoted/anti-democratic as the Justices who supported Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896, which established the idea of "separate but equal" facilities, thereby legalizing racial segregation in the United States. Shameful. Disgraceful. Not enough words in the Thesaurus to describe what they've done to our country.
Given the incoming administration if you want to read Jay’s analysis again I recommend printing it. They will attempt to erase history not favorable to them, including public record.
Thank you, Jay for reminding us about the actual history and timeline of the DOJ’s investigations, including the impact of COVID on court schedules.
And while it is discouraging that the world’s most successful scofflaw has once again escaped justice, the truth is now part of the public record. Thanks to Garland and Jack Smith, and to you, Joyce Vance and Heather Cox Richardson for keeping me off the ledge.
We knew all of this; and yet, reading it makes me sick to my stomach. How does one man get away with everything? If his skin was a different color, he wouldn't. It shouldn't have mattered that there was no other case to compare this to because there were no other cases to compare this to. It was a first and should have been held up as precedent so that it doesn't happen again.
I am glad Smith was able to get his paper published before the inauguration, but in the annals of history it will probably go down like the Mueller Report, with a shrug of indifference. Despite his attempts to get it presented sooner and convict Trump, the crazy ways the laws of the land allow for constant delays, it was never going to be. There a lot of what if's, but in the end Trump won out. The American people are the ones to pay.
Something that scares the daylight out of me is the fraction of America that knows, and knew when they voted, most of the case against Trump. My experience with MAGA supporters is that they're exceptionally good at making false comparisons, unrelated counter claims, true statements based on false premises (inmate sex-changes), and brazen lies - as everyone's is. MAGA exercises that whole spectrum very effectively, and it's not because they themselves have been fooled. With (almost) half of America doing this, and with no need to be consistent with their claims because their point is to confuse everyone, can we be so organized and informed that we present a uniform incontestable light of truth?
You are both correct. As of right now and for the foreseeable future, trump et al won. Across the board won.
Yet, those of us unwilling to live in a fascist led theocracy or under anyone’s boot have to “keep the light of truth burning”. Keep it burning and in print even if only in binders we keep.
I appreciate your analysis on this issue. I don’t understand legal nuances to appreciate the juggernaut that is the DOJ, and I could only surmise that there was a LOT going on in the background that we’ll likely never fully be aware of. So many people blame Biden for his placement of Garland as AG, who oversaw this massive file which is Trump’s criminality.
As you’ve said before, it’s a vibe thing and so many people are frustrated.
As a Canadian, my country is directly impacted by who occupies the American WH, yet I have no say, and worse yet get told frequently to stay in my lane. I’ll keep my fingers crossed that in two years, people will have seen, and more importantly , FELT, enough of the MAGA BS to move to more progressive ideals.
When will Volume 2 be published? How to obtain copies of each?
We need to have copies to keep as evidence of history. Real history, not alternative history. For example, I printed Project 2025, the report of the horrific schools that Indian children were forced into, the Torture Report @ Gitmo & etc and the recent Tulsa Massacre Report. I want to add Smith’s work to my history bookshelves.
We have to protect evidence of history from being destroyed during the next four years.
My understanding is that Garland will provide copies of Volume 2 to both parties’ representatives in the Judiciary Committees of both chambers of Congress. If Trump pardons the two remaining defendants or if the new AG drops the charges, there will be no reason for those copies to remain confidential because there will be no more pending cases.
Wow, good thinking. It may prevent Trump from pardoning them. Which in turn will hopefully make many people think twice about cooperating with Trump in the future.
That was my thought too, Kevin. If Trump's choices are to let his co-conspirators hang or have the truth come out, we know he will leave them to hang.
It would be great if Biden pardons them and releases the Volume 2 himself.
Exactly. Pardon the minions since they'll never get anything close to an actual trial with bimbo Cannon, and then publicly release the report and all of the evidence and taunt the partisan hacks on the Robert's Kangaroo Court to whine that he did something outside of their magical immunity B.S.
That would make it impossible for Volume 2 to be "accidently deleted".
Brilliant reasoning but I don't think we need the blow-back it would engender from both sides of the chasm.
"If Trump pardons the two remaining defendants..." That will be a litmus test for the Insulter-in-Chief -- damned if he does and damned if he doesn't...stay tuned!
I admire your tenacity and determination. Right now, it appears Vol. 2 may not be released for years, if at all. My hope is that it will at least be leaked by someone who will have access. The Republicans are very good at delay, delay, delay...destroy. I wish I thought otherwise, but here we are.
Why on God's green earth can't someone leak and publish Volume 2? There are plenty of precedents: Ellsberg, even Assange. What are they afraid of? We are going to swirl down the drain in a torrent of 20th century politeness. A blogster who goes by the name of God wrote today, You can't reason with a tiger when your head is in its mouth. He also wrote, "The old-guard establishment Democrats have failed us miserably... They demanded justice. They got none, because their leaders are ego-driven cowards, mentally living in some made-up halcyon world of yesteryear, in a me-damned episode of ‘The West Wing.’" And also, "You cannot bring a sternly worded letter to a gun fight. When will we learn?" His blog--it's short, pithy, razor-sharp, and wonderfully blasphemous-- is here:
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/3/#inbox/FMfcgzQZSjbwDkHtjpSDlFgVRzfKtFsr
Thank you for stating the issue about the Dems so eloquently.... been trying to phrase this since the election was lost and you nailed it. You should post this on FB! Too many good Americans are trying to find the place to be with the incredible "go high, when they go low" propaganda of peace making when we are dealing with vicious barbarians.
That's not a good link to "God."
Here's one:
https://www.facebook.com/TheGoodLordAbove
And another:
https://substack.com/@thegodpod
It won’t be. As has been widely reported, AG Garland has chosen *not* to release it, given that there are still charges against 2 of Trump’s flunkies (Nauta & De Oliveira) that are not being dismissed, as they are not bound by the DOJ policy of not prosecuting a sitting President.
Personally, I agree with many that have suggested Garland should have dropped those charges and released Volume 2, since the entire case was of such serious consequence that Americans should have been informed of all the details, particularly given that the Trump DOJ will immediately drop the cases anyway.
I’m really not sure what Garland’s reasoning is on that…..
Garland was nominated by Obama for the Supremes because he was an acceptable Republican who might believe in the Rule of Law. I don't know that that category still exists.
Fierce, I like it: Garland is "an acceptable Republican who might believe in the Rule of Law." So nicely Democratic--polite and ambiguous. Tom, your employment of the subjunctive is priceless. And, Tom, news flash: that category *doesn't* still exist.
Garland is a weenie. Plain and simple . . .
Too much damning evidence in Vol 2.
Which is precisely *why* Garland should have dropped the soon-to-be-dropped-anyway charges against Nauta & De Oliveira and published Volume 2!
The only conceivable reason I can see is that it might well have caught everything up at the appellate or SCOTUS level and the delays could have kept BOTH volumes from being released prior to the Trump DOJ torching them….
I think, based on his own actions for 4 years, that Garland is a trump supporter and he very carefully laid the path for trump to return to the WH. I’m guessing Garland will be wearing a Presidential Medal of Freedom within six months.
I hold him, Biden, the six trump lapdogs on the bench and the entire crop of Corporate Democrats (led by Pelosi) responsible for trump’s return. Plus, of course, the pathetic cowards and outright fascist members of the RFP (Republican Fascist Party) along with the complicit mainstream media and the entire, unchecked far right state propaganda system (Fox, etc).
Tritler's return lies first and foremost with the spinless Senate R's who refused to impeach him in Jan 2021 even though they knew he was guilty. Tritler watched the chaos for 3 hours- 3 f-ing hours- when he had the ability to stop it in more ways than one. No president in my lifetime would have just watched, his inaction spoke volumes about his guilt. And yet he was not impeached by the Senate. The R's then had the ability to reject him as their main candidate, they could have walked from him, they did not.
I'm not sure where Biden, Pelosi and the "Corporate Democrats" fit in with helping with his return. Biden as president, and under the constant accusation of "political witch hunt" did the right thing in keeping out of it. He was busy doing what he was elected to do.
Thanks for your reply.
The actions of Biden, Pelosi and the Corporate Democrats that helped put trump back in the WH are easily researched and discussed. I’ve done that elsewhere. I won’t add all that here because I don’t want to hijack the thread.
yea the actions of being decent people, standing for America and not trying to rip us apart were very bad (SMH) I refuse to lay blame anywhere except where it belongs- spineless Repugs, uneducated voters, Russian bots and a biased media
Assume that Garland was not a Trump supporter as you suggest. How would he have acted differently and would you care to game out the possible consequences of those actions as well as the likelihood of Trump not being elected again?
Here's Vol. 1: https://www.justice.gov/storage/Report-of-Special-Counsel-Smith-Volume-1-January-2025.pdf
Thanks for that link. Yeah, it's available by searching, but here it is, and much appreciated.
Thank you for the link. Good thing I just purchased more ink and paper. I’ll print this today.
Upside is that Vol. 1 - and eventually Vol. 2, let's not kid ourselves that Aileen Cannon, or even the Supremes can bury it - will now enter the historical record, further damning the entirety of the tRump era as one of unbounded criminality, flouting of established norms, and massive insults to constitutional law, full stop.
Oh, and the first felon to be sworn in as president..."First Felon", I like it!
Some one should read this report into the Congressional Record. And hopefully a copy has been given to President Biden so it is included in his official presidential records.
Our corporate democrats are doing nothing else. Why not instruct them to spend their worthless time reading this report into the Congressional Record, indeed? It will make a nice counterpart to the slaughtering of America going on in the next room. Put these developmentally-challenged men to work doing something their little minds can actually succeed at. It won't do us any good for a couple hundred years, but then maybe some historian in the future can empathize with us in 2326.
Things can be "read" into the Congressional Record by reference, as "Statements for the Record", which then appear in printed form in the official record.
Here it is: https://www.justice.gov/storage/Report-of-Special-Counsel-Smith-Volume-1-January-2025.pdf
Thank you again Jay for making this complex issue easier to understand. Let’s hope people still read history in the future.
Thank you, Jay for all you do
Jay Kuo: What a concise and clear presentation of the case built by Special Counsel Jack Smith.
This article shall be saved to read over again to imprint all details.
Thank you so very much for doing the hard work to deliver logical analysis!
Thank you for this thorough article. Too often I read accounts of more blame and in-fighting among those of us who are trying to figure out how to deal with this. Your article explains and informs without goading us to leap into the flames of more self-destruction. Now we have to stand strong and be actively opposed to what we know is wrong. The government is not going to save us. We hoped and we waited. We have to save the government. We have to help those who are vulnerable and in need and speak out against the corruption we are facing. This begins in our own communities. The rules have changed. The game is our lives. This is our time.
We had a chance to save the government, but we fell short. We will need to try again, and with greater determination, in two years.
The idea that the DoJ cannot prosecute a sitting president for a crime is long past its prime. If no one is above the law, that includes a sitting President, former President, and President-elect.
The DoJ prosecutes people in Congress as well as state legislatures for federal crimes, so there is no reason not to treat everyone the same.
By treating some people as “special,” the DoJ merely solidifies the common view that we have a two-tiered system of justice. Because we obviously do.
The policy is certainly being abused beyond recognition now.
Once again Jay, thank you for your insightful coverage. I very much appreciate your defense of Merrick Garland and Jack Smith. Too many armchair litigators are blaming one or both of them for the delay in prosecution. As you have pointed out, there were many factors that lay outside of their control, which contributed to the excessive delays. In such uncharted territory, prosecutors have to build an airtight case, which takes much time and effort. They were not twiddling their thumbs, rather they were pursuing evidence from those who were involved. The sheer number of prosecutions of 1/6 insurrectionists, and the court delays due to COVID, made it a long, difficult slog. These men should be commended for their dedication and persistence, not blamed for the failure of our judicial systems to address such unprecedented events. All of the blame sits squarely on the 45th president, starting with his appointment of corrupt SC Justices and continuing with his mishandling of the pandemic, causing millions of deaths and systemic breakdowns. Add to this his direct and indirect action leading to the insurrection and his constant efforts to delay, obfuscate and obstruct the process, all supported by oligarch billionaires and his depraved allies on the SC. Thanks for setting the record straight!
The blame of the corrupt SC Justices and the failure to get rid of the incoming Felon-in-chief lies with McConnell alone.
Smith admitted that his team could not find a case where someone had been charged for “inciting, assisting, or giving aid or comfort to rebellion or insurrection.” So, basically, they didn't level the worst charge because no one has ever been as criminally brazen as trump in his treasonous actions. I guess I shouldn't be surprised.
It’s always a good thing when the lack of the emperor’s clothes is called out. Thanks for your very helpful summary & analysis.
The right-wing majority Justices of the current Supreme Court who extended presidential immunity are as corrupt/bigoted/anti-democratic as the Justices who supported Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896, which established the idea of "separate but equal" facilities, thereby legalizing racial segregation in the United States. Shameful. Disgraceful. Not enough words in the Thesaurus to describe what they've done to our country.
When I write about Roberts I call him John Roberts Taney. Hopefully history will put an asterisk by his name and include your post.
Thankfully it is now part of the public record!
Given the incoming administration if you want to read Jay’s analysis again I recommend printing it. They will attempt to erase history not favorable to them, including public record.
Thank you, Jay for reminding us about the actual history and timeline of the DOJ’s investigations, including the impact of COVID on court schedules.
And while it is discouraging that the world’s most successful scofflaw has once again escaped justice, the truth is now part of the public record. Thanks to Garland and Jack Smith, and to you, Joyce Vance and Heather Cox Richardson for keeping me off the ledge.
Guilty AF!
We knew all of this; and yet, reading it makes me sick to my stomach. How does one man get away with everything? If his skin was a different color, he wouldn't. It shouldn't have mattered that there was no other case to compare this to because there were no other cases to compare this to. It was a first and should have been held up as precedent so that it doesn't happen again.
I am glad Smith was able to get his paper published before the inauguration, but in the annals of history it will probably go down like the Mueller Report, with a shrug of indifference. Despite his attempts to get it presented sooner and convict Trump, the crazy ways the laws of the land allow for constant delays, it was never going to be. There a lot of what if's, but in the end Trump won out. The American people are the ones to pay.
I hope not. It’s up to all of us to keep the light of the truth burning.
Something that scares the daylight out of me is the fraction of America that knows, and knew when they voted, most of the case against Trump. My experience with MAGA supporters is that they're exceptionally good at making false comparisons, unrelated counter claims, true statements based on false premises (inmate sex-changes), and brazen lies - as everyone's is. MAGA exercises that whole spectrum very effectively, and it's not because they themselves have been fooled. With (almost) half of America doing this, and with no need to be consistent with their claims because their point is to confuse everyone, can we be so organized and informed that we present a uniform incontestable light of truth?
You are both correct. As of right now and for the foreseeable future, trump et al won. Across the board won.
Yet, those of us unwilling to live in a fascist led theocracy or under anyone’s boot have to “keep the light of truth burning”. Keep it burning and in print even if only in binders we keep.
Thank you for this report!
I appreciate your analysis on this issue. I don’t understand legal nuances to appreciate the juggernaut that is the DOJ, and I could only surmise that there was a LOT going on in the background that we’ll likely never fully be aware of. So many people blame Biden for his placement of Garland as AG, who oversaw this massive file which is Trump’s criminality.
As you’ve said before, it’s a vibe thing and so many people are frustrated.
As a Canadian, my country is directly impacted by who occupies the American WH, yet I have no say, and worse yet get told frequently to stay in my lane. I’ll keep my fingers crossed that in two years, people will have seen, and more importantly , FELT, enough of the MAGA BS to move to more progressive ideals.
No need to stay in your lane. We can use all the help we can get, including from our Canadian friends. :-)