Legal expert says Jack Smith can get "devastating" Trump evidence: Juries "eat it up"

"Bad act evidence that somebody did something else bad somewhere else is devastating," MSNBC legal analyst says

By Gabriella Ferrigine

Staff Writer

Published December 26, 2023 11:05AM (EST)

Special Counsel Jack Smith arrives to remarks on a recently unsealed indictment including four felony counts against former U.S. President Donald Trump on August 1, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Special Counsel Jack Smith arrives to remarks on a recently unsealed indictment including four felony counts against former U.S. President Donald Trump on August 1, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

A recently discovered recording that reportedly includes audio of former President Donald Trump and RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel conspiring with Michigan officials to subvert the 2020 presidential election will be the focus of special counsel Jack Smith’s prosecutorial evidence, according to MSNBC legal analyst Danny Cevallos. "There was a lot of talk this last week about, well, could this expose him to liability in a Michigan court? Maybe. But far more interesting to me, having defended federal criminal cases, I can tell you federal court is not a fun place to be for a criminal defense attorney because the government is very good at what they do," the attorney said. 

"If I'm the government I'm thinking they're looking at this Michigan evidence as what we call 404-B, but all it is is prior bad act evidence that sometimes under certain circumstances can come into a prosecution," Cevallos continued. "So if I'm Jack Smith, maybe you look at that Michigan evidence or any evidence from any other state and bring that in as evidence in your D.C. court case and say, 'Look, this is what he was doing elsewhere, this was not a mistake. This is his modus operandi. This all should come in,' and it can be devastating evidence," he added. "I can tell you personally that bad act evidence that somebody did something else bad somewhere else is devastating and juries — they eat it up.”