For Trump, Jack Smith's new application brings with it more than just legal problems

After Republican-appointed U.S. Supreme Court justices ruled that presidents cannot be prosecuted for their actions in office, special counsel Jack Smith was tasked with streamlining one of his cases against Donald Trump. Specifically, the prosecutor and his team had to inform a federal court that the prosecution against the former president for his alleged election crimes could proceed regardless of the Supreme Court's controversial decision.

Last week, Smith's office filed a court filing that not only explained why the criminal charges remain solid, but also provided new details about the merits of the case. For obvious reasons, the Republican candidate, who has denied any wrongdoing, did not want this court filing to become public during election season.

A federal judge unsealed it anyway. (You can read it here.)

Broadly speaking, there are a handful of aspects to the story. The first is the legal dimension, as prosecutors take careful steps to protect their case and explain why Trump's post-defeat conspiracy cannot be considered an official act of the president.

The second aspect is the scope of the new revelations. Politico had an excellent report that captured some of the most notable details, although NBC News' report highlighted a particularly memorable quote from the former president that helped neatly and importantly summarize his post-defeat perspective.

But the other aspect to keep in mind is the timing of these developments. The Washington Post had a good report along these lines, noting that the court filing “served at least as a belated reminder of an ugly, Trump-inspired episode, with only more than a month left until voters decided whether to return her.” “to the White House.”

I can understand why this may be hard to believe for well-informed news consumers, but a significant portion of the population no longer remembers January 6 or the Republican candidate's efforts to overturn the will of his own country's voters.

I recall a Columbia Journalism Review report that spoke with Celinda Lake, one of the leading pollsters who worked on President Joe Biden's 2020 campaign, who was stunned during a focus group session with swing voters earlier this year.

According to the report, Lake asked how voters felt about Trump's impeachment related to January 6th.

“You're like, 'What court case around January 6th?'” the pollster recalled. “These were swing voters, and about half of them weren’t sure what we were talking about. And I said, “Well, you know, the riot and that he was the one who provoked it.” They say, “Oh yeah. I somehow forgot about that.'”

A few months later, a nationwide survey by Yahoo News and YouGov found that a surprising number of Americans were unfamiliar with the criminal cases against the former president.

Many voters don't know that a jury found Trump guilty of 34 felonies. They don't know that another jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse. They don't know that a separate court found that Trump oversaw a company that committed systemic fraud.

And they don't know that federal prosecutors have charged Trump with various crimes related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. As Election Day approaches and early voting begins across much of the country, Smith's filing is a timely reminder.