Trump Organization found guilty of tax fraud
PBS NewsHourDec 24, 2022
The Facts
Special counsel Jack Smith has reportedly issued grand jury subpoenas to local officials in several key presidential swing states – Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin – for any communications with former Pres. Donald Trump, his campaign, and a series of allies who allegedly aided his effort to overturn the 2020 election results.
Smith’s first-known subpoenas were sent to officials in Milwaukee and Dane counties in Wisconsin; Wayne County, Michigan; Maricopa County, Arizona; and Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.
The Spin
Democratic narrative
The investigations over Jan. 6 and Trump’s possession of classified documents were gathering steam before Smith came in. Now they seem to be ramping up and drilling down on the former president’s role in these scandals. The breadth of these subpoenas should be able to gather enough information to charge Trump criminally.
Pro-Trump narrative
Smith, a known Democratic hack with a history of persecuting Republicans, is being used by Garland to carry out a political hitjob on Trump ahead of his 2024 run for president. It’s dangerous when an administration investigates its political opponents for exercising their right to free speech, which was all Trump did when he objected to the 2020 election results.
