Jack Smith to Trump lawyers: I'm not a 'Grinch' but a giver of  'speedy' justice

Special Counsel Jack Smith is spreading holiday joy.

Earlier on Wednesday, attorneys for Donald Trump cast the prosecutor as the storybook villain of the "Grinch" and blamed the special counsel for disenfranchising millions of American voters by trying to convict the ex-president before election day.

They groused about Smith's proposed speedy schedule that "would require attorneys and support staff to work round-the-clock through the holidays, inevitably disrupting family and travel plans."

"It is as if the Special Counsel 'growled, with his Grinch fingers nervously drumming, ‘I must find some way to keep Christmas from coming. ... But how?’"

Hours later, with the ink yet to dry, Smith filed a response and dismissed the characterization plucked from Dr. Seuss' iconic children's book, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!"

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Smith's response suggested that "if the Court today enters a briefing order consistent with the Government’s request, the defendant’s brief would be due no later than December 23."

Trump is defending against an indictment based on his conduct on Jan. 6, 2021 to foment a mob of Trump supporters rushing the Capitol Building to thwart the certification of the election to then-President-Elect Joe Biden.

As far as the merits of trying to slow down the trial in lieu of the forthcoming 2024 election, Smith maintains they are flimsy.

"None of the arguments in defendant-appellant Donald J. Trump’s opposition to the Government’s motion to expedite this case has merit," the 10-page document reads as first reported by The Messenger. "Rather, consistent with the public importance of promptly resolving this case and the parties’ deep familiarity with the issues, expedited briefing and argument is warranted."

Trump's attorneys also want the court to be leery of a "heedless rush to judgment."

Hanging in the balance is whether or not the Supreme Court is going to rule on Smith's formal ask to determine if former President Donald Trump is immune from prosecution.

Trump's appealing on constitutional grounds Judge Tanya Chutkan's filing from earlier this month concluding that that Trump's four years as leader of the free world didn’t entitle him to “the divine right of kings to evade the criminal accountability that governs his fellow citizens."

Smith reiterated the government's capability of moving the wheels of justice along and almost challenged Trump's attorneys to pick up the pace.

"In any event, the public’s need for a speedy resolution of these important legal issues take precedence over personal scheduling issues," the papers say. "The parties and the judicial system are fully capable of moving with the swiftness required."