Jack Smith’s Fla. Strategy Backfired on the Justice Dept

A pivotal choice by special counsel Jack Smith to prosecute President Donald Trump in Florida rather than Washington, D.C., has come under renewed scrutiny inside the Justice Department after the case’s collapse this summer.

Interviews and internal accounts reviewed by Carol Leonnig and Aaron C. Davis in their upcoming book, “Injustice,” reveal that Smith’s team, divided over strategy, miscalculated the risks and the odds that the case would fall to a judge viewed as sympathetic to Trump.

Inside the Justice Department, Smith’s decision remains the subject of debate. Supporters say the Florida venue was legally sound; critics call it a fatal strategic error.