Anna Bower
‪@annabower.bsky.social‬

You’ve gotta be kidding me.

This WaPo editorial presents a misleading revisionist history of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s criminal cases against Trump.

Then it has the gall to compare that to Trump’s overt targeting of his perceived enemies.

Really embarrassing stuff.
But the mere fact that a legal tool might be available does not mean it should be used. The
current rage over Grassley's revelation shows why. Smith showed little restraint in his pursuit of a former president. He charged Trump for official acts he took as president. He sought a gag order to limit Trump's ability to criticize the prosecution. He tried to accelerate the case to try a leading presidential candidate before the 2024 election.
ALT

‪Philip Bump‬
‪@pbump.com‬
· 8h
I spent more than a decade at The Post. It was good to me and I was proud to work there. I’ve largely refrained from being critical since I left. But this framing of the special counsel probe is embarrassing and flatly wrong. Stunning, but not.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/10/08/jack-smith-james-comey-lawfare-phone-records/

Opinion | Jack Smith’s lawfare and James Comey’s arraignment on pathetically weak charges
Good people will be deterred from public service if they see a meaningful risk of winding up in jail afterward.
www.washingtonpost.com
October 8, 2025 at 10:05 PM

Philip Bump
‪@pbump.com‬

I spent more than a decade at The Post. It was good to me and I was proud to work there. I’ve largely refrained from being critical since I left. But this framing of the special counsel probe is embarrassing and flatly wrong. Stunning, but not.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/10/08/jack-smith-james-comey-lawfare-phone-records/

Opinion | Jack Smith’s lawfare and James Comey’s arraignment on pathetically weak charges
Good people will be deterred from public service if they see a meaningful risk of winding up in jail afterward.
www.washingtonpost.com
October 8, 2025 at 8:46 PM

Philip Bump
‪@pbump.com‬

If you’d like a more realistic assessment; I wrote about it today.
https://www.pbump.net/o/dethawing-arctic-frost-and-the-new-biden-was-worse-argument/

Thawing out ‘Arctic Frost’ and the new Biden-was-worse argument
A recent American presidency, you may be alarmed to hear, engaged in an action that was "arguably worse than Watergate" — an event still positioned in some circles as the gold-standard of presidential...
www.pbump.net
October 8, 2025 at 8:48 PM