Pence meeting shows Jack Smith is pursuing a different approach than Robert Mueller: expert
In an unusual move, January 6 special counsel Jack Smith sat in on the grand jury testimony of former Vice President Mike Pence — testimony that was the culmination of months of back-and-forth legal wrangling over whether the Justice Department had the constitutional authority to compel Pence in the first place.
Speaking to CNN's "The Situation Room" on Wednesday, former prosecutor Shan Wu outlined how this represents a huge difference between the approaches of Smith and former special counsel Robert Mueller, who oversaw the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
"What does it suggest to you, that Jack Smith actually sat in during the grand jury testimony?" asked anchor Wolf Blitzer.
"Besides the historic nature ... from a prosecutorial and defense counsel, it signals it's active and operational," said Wu. "Very rare for a leader to be personally sitting there in the grand jury room during that testimony. And I think it signals that he's — it's a very vigorous style of leadership. I mean, it's a little bit of a contrast to the approach we saw in the Mueller investigation, where, from what we understand and what I personally saw, Mueller himself did not participate in most of the interviews leading through his staff. Mueller coming from being the head of the FBI for many years, very large institution. Different place in his career than Smith, who was very much coming to this from being an operational prosecutor. So I think we're seeing a contrast in those styles."
"Do you think Jack Smith will continue his role in other key testimony going forward?" Blitzer pressed him.
"He may," said Wu. "I think it probably depends on the individual witness whether he would be there or not. But I think his mere presence signals he has a very hands-on role in directing the operation. The caution, not always good to have the top person be too hands-on. You might compare [special counsel John] Durham's efforts of leading the investigation, but there are very different kinds of prosecutors. I think this signals he has a steady and active hand on the controls."
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