Jack Smith in recent weeks has been using a Miami grand jury to hear evidence against Donald Trump in the classified documents probe, and all indications are that the special counsel is likely to try the case against the former president in South Florida.
But legal experts warn that the region is a historically is a tough place to secure convictions in federal cases against politicians and celebrities, The Messenger reports, noting that “Trump is both.”
Richard Gregorie, a former Miami-based federal prosecutor, told The Messenger that Trump enjoys far more support in South Florida than in Washington D.C.
In the 2020 election, just 5 percent of D.C. voters backed Trump, compared to 45 percent in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties, The Washington Post reports.
“I would absolutely try this case in Washington D.C.,” Gregorie said.
“People who operate in D.C. have no idea what it’s like down here. Prosecuting politicians is hard here,” he added.
“The people are just suspicious of government all over South Florida.”
Gregorie during his storied career won convictions against Panamanian President Manuel Noriega and Colombian cocaine traffickers with the Medellin Cartel, among other high-profile defendants.
But Gregorie lost two unrelated public corruption cases against former Miami-area mayors in the city of Hialeah, Julio Robaina and Raul Martinez, in cases in 2014 and the 1990s, the report said, noting that those experiences give him pause when considering trying Trump in South Florida.
Criminal defense attorney David Oscar Markus echoed Gregorie’s view.
“Forget documents, if Trump shot someone on Calle Ocho, a Miami jury would find him not guilty,” Markus said.
