It is Sunday, December 21st. I'm Ali Valshi.

Since returning to office, Donald Trump has been cosplaying as judge, jury, and prosecutor,

distorting the rule of law.

But his all-consuming and transparent desire for retribution has already resulted in multiple

embarrassing episodes for his administration as the rule of law and the people who still believe in

it push back against his intrusions. Just last week, former special counsel Jack Smith stood

firm in defense of the rule of law despite threats from the president. Smith indicted Trump twice,

once for conspiring to overturn the 2020 election results and the second time for mishandling a

trove of classified documents. President Trump has repeatedly called for Smith himself to be prosecuted.

In October, the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee subpoenaed Smith to testify

over what they called, quote, prosecutorial misconduct and constitutional abuses, end quote,

in Smith's investigation of Trump. On Wednesday, Smith appeared before the committee for a closed

door deposition, and judging by excerpts of his opening statement, Jack Smith is not backing

down. Smith said his team found, quote, proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump

engaged in criminal behavior. He added, quote, the decision to bring charges against President

Trump was mine. But the basis for those charges rests entirely with President Trump and his actions, as alleged in the indictments returned by grand juries in two different districts.

If asked whether to prosecute a former president based on the same facts today, I would do so, regardless of whether the president was a Republican or a Democrat, end quote.

But Smith and his team were never

able to present their evidence because they were forced to drop their cases when Trump returned to

office, because according to Justice Department policy, the sitting occupant of the White

House cannot be prosecuted for crimes. Jack Smith is not the only prosecutor who's been

targeted by this administration.

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