His tenacity as a lawyer is cultivated in his resistance as a long-distance runner, which must be trained and willing to suffer.
A good fan of cycling, he has completed more than a hundred triathlons and at least nine ironman competitions around the world. And that in an interview granted in 2018 he acknowledged that he was unable to do a length in a pool until he was 30 years old.
This is Special Counsel Jack Smith, a seasoned attorney described by his colleagues as “a dedicated prosecutor†who never flinched from difficult cases. Without a doubt, the case against Donald Trump marks a before and after. As they say in the circus, he faces “the most difficult yetâ€. The former president has already been in charge of heating up engines by describing him as a fascist or a puppet of Joe Biden.
Smith will not go down in the annals as an amateur athlete. His successes are relegated to meetings with friends or battles at family meals.
But the commission made to him in November by the Secretary of Justice, Merrick Garland, has put him at the center of history. He is the first to charge a former president with federal crimes, some as serious as violating the espionage act, after finding numerous secret documents hidden in the Mar-a-Lago mansion that Trump took from the White House.
For some, the Democrats, he is an honest man. For others, especially the Trumpist Republicans, he is one more cog in the sewers of the State.
“Smith is the right choice to complete these matters impartially and urgently,” said Garland, who justified his appointment “in the public interest”, given the “particularly delicate” situation. Don’t forget that he is also investigating the assault on Congress on January 6, 2021 and Trump’s involvement in the coup attempt.
Born June 5, 1969 near Syracuse, New York, he graduated from state college and attended Harvard Law School.
In the 1990s, he served as a prosecutor in Manhattan and later in Brooklyn. He rose to high positions and oversaw matters involving mafias, violent crime, corruption, financial fraud, or terrorism.
Then he was at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. He returned to the Department of Justice, had other occupations and returned to The Hague to investigate crimes in Kosovo. There he received the call from Garland.
A few years ago he was hit by a truck while riding a bicycle. He broke his pelvis, but that didn’t stop him.
