A ripped-up note could give Jack Smith what he needs to prove Trump's Jan. 6 intent

A furious Donald Trump ripped up a note about top Army leaders who said the military could not involve itself in the election. Then he tweeted that would "change the course of history," calling supporters to Washington on Jan. 6, 2021: "Be there. Will be wild."

The note — written by a Trump staffer affirming the president's intention to fire army leaders should they publish another public statement — appears in Jonathan Karl's widely anticipated new book "Tired of Winning" set to be released at midnight.

"Doesn't that get right at his intent of what he wanted them to do?" asked MSNBC's host Nicolle Wallace, referencing Jack Smith's indictment over the 2020 election and Jan. 6. riot.

"Absolutely," replied NYU law school professor Andrew Weissmann, who previously served as the FBI general counsel. “That note gets ripped up into pieces so no one could find it."

The note, written after Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy and Army Chief of Staff James McConville issued a statement affirming the military would play no role in determining the outcome of a U.S. election, was eventually found and pieced back together by the National Archives. It appears in its entirety in the book's pages, Weissman pointed out.

Then Weissman dove into why it matters.

"As much of you think of it as a military organization with a hierarchy, they are also trained they do not violate the Constitution," Weissmann said. "And when there's an invalid order, they cannot follow it because the Constitution comes first."

"So, to me, this is right to the heart of Donald Trump brushing up against one guardrail," he continued.

Weissman praised the book, explaining that this piece of the Trump election scandal always drew his attention.

"I have always been fascinated by the fact you had had the Defense Department and [Gen. Mark] Milley, with a lot going on behind the scenes, pushing back because you can't engage in a coup without military backing," he said. "And the fact that Kash Patel was there, a figure with no military expertise whatsoever, and was installed there, to me, is always this unwritten story about what was happening."

Weissmann said his time in the FBI and the Justice Department showed him that the military is "incredibly law-abiding" and genuinely "stand for the rule of law." So, he doesn't see them participating in a coup any time soon, even if the commander-in-chief orders it.

Weissmann recalled Justice Department friends telling him Trump's tenure was "malevolence matched by incompetence." After Trump and his allies found the light switches, the next time around, he will know better how to recreate the U.S. government in his image and dismantle much of what is in place now.

This is already a plot in the far-right wing of the Republican Party being pushed by the Heritage Foundation. It's known as Project 2025.

See the full discussion in the video below or at the link here.

A ripped-up note could give Jack Smith what he needs to prove Trump's Jan. 6 intentwww.youtube.com