It's concerning that the classified docs grand jury last met on May 5th and we still have no charges

[NewsCenter28]

So, Allison Gill, (Mueller, She Wrote) on Twitter and others there have stated that the Jack Smith classified docs grand jury last met on May 5th. There was a 3-week interregnum between the recommendation to Merrick Garland to raid Mar-A-Lago and the actual raid, on August 8, 2022. I believe Allison said that was a useful timeframe to look at. She just noted that the grand jury wrapped up on May 5th, or at least hasn't met since then, so she projected at the time of her tweet, that we should be hearing from Merrick Garland in about 3 weeks if he followed the same timeline as his Mar-A-Lago raid decision.

We're now past the 3-week mark that Allison laid out, at the time, as a marker to watch out for. So, the nervous side of me is thinking that perhaps there is a fight, at the very least, inside DOJ over whether to bring charges. This explosion of leaks we're getting on the classified documents investigation isn't particularly encouraging, as it seems iike someone is trying to apply pressure on someone else with the leaks.

A positive note is the Trump lawyers demanding a meeting with the AG last week over the Smith invesetigation. But, still with the Mar-A-Lago Grand Jury being wrapped up for over 3 weeks now, one would think that we're getting to the point NOW where we are going to see charges or we may never.

Another positive note is that Smith may have decided to announce his classified docs/January 6th case decisions at the same time, but that was not the expectation of most legal experts I've seen for almost the last year now.

Not bashing anyone. Just noting that the grand jury has long since wrapped up it's work and we haven't heard anything. In declination cases, I believe the practice is that we don't hear anything until the declination rationale is laid out in Smith's final report to Congress, as mandated by the SC regs.

[Pantagruel]

1. New evidence

seems to be constantly uncovered. Smith should take his time and get it RIGHT!

[OAITW r.2.0]

2. Exactly.

[agingdem]

7. and I suspect Smith/Garland have convened more than one federal grand jury

tasked with the classified document probe and the January 6 insurrection..and I'm certain there will be more avenues of inquiry as evidence of Trump's criminality are uncovered but the DOJ is almost two and half years into Trump's coup to stay in power and more than a year after the first subpoena was issued in the hunt for Trump's stolen documents..a leak here and a leak there via New York Times/Washington Post/the Daily Beast/the Guardian/CNN is not enough to assure us Trump will be held to account, and because we're going into primary season with Trump the apparent Republican front runner we need a reckoning now...

[OAITW r.2.0]

9. Oh My

You nailed it.

[Chainfire]

12. So, if there is always new evidence found does that mean there will never be an indictment?

[Deuxcents]

3. My take is..lots of new evidence has emerged since May 5th

I get impatient and keep hoping for something to happen but, if some of this information was not known then, the indictments would not be as complete as they seem to be now. Let them get this wrapped up as tightly as they can so there’s no way a conviction isn’t certain.

[Tetrachloride]

4. Post-Memorial Day is fine by me. June will be busting out all over.

[euphorb]

5. Several things to keep in mind

First, just because we are hearing this evidence now does not mean it is new to Jack Smith and his team. We are hearing it because someone recently spoke with reporters (most likely witnesses or their lawyers). The leaks are most certainly coming from the DOJ. They most likely had this evidence weeks or even months ago. It's new to US, but not to them.

Second, once the evidence has been gathered (and that presumably was completed at the end of the grand jury on May 5), there is still a lot for the prosecutors to do before they go public with indictments (the grand jury may already have voted on them). The have to evaluate all possible defenses that Trump (or other possible defendants) might have and determine how to counter them. They need to evaluate any possible appeals and how to respond to them. Both of these are necessary procedures to make sure they have an airtight case. They also have to make sure the evidence is ready in digestible form to turn over to the defense once indictments are issued--that may take time. And they have to anticipate any possible motions the defense may make after indictments are issued and be prepared to respond to them. Also, since this case involves national security and classified documents, they need to coordinate with intelligence agencies so that they are all on the same page with respect to what can and cannot be revealed at trial or mentioned in the indictment. Anything that can't be turned over to the defense (because it's too sensitive) can't be used as evidence, so they need to get that squared away. So, there is a lot of analysis to go through. Finally, once Jack Smith is ready to go, he has to pass his conclusion up to Merrick Garland so he can review the case and make a final decision (most likely he will approve whatever Smith decides, but he needs to become familiar with the entire case so he can make a meaningful response).

The three weeks it took for the search warrant has nothing to do this. They are entirely different situations and require different analyses.

[phylny]

10. Thank you for this input.

Very enlightening.

[PortTack]

8. It was noted in Keith Olberman's pod cast that the picture that has become synonymous with

The classified doc story, the one with a right angle ruler framing one of the docs scattered on the floor is a copy! Supposedly the red framing means top classified. when they are copied they come out with a white edge!