Late-night television hosts are having fun with a Central New York native who was recently named a special counsel in the U.S. Department of Justice’s investigation into former President Donald Trump.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Friday that Jack Smith, who grew up in the Syracuse suburb of Clay, will oversee two probes into Trump, including the discovery of classified documents found in Mar-a-Lago and parts of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Smith will decide whether to bring charges against Trump.
“Said to be very tough,” Jimmy Kimmel said on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” while showing a photo of a stern-faced Smith. “Looks like a guy who’d sentence Chewbacca to death.”
“The Late Show” host Stephen Colbert called Smith “General Zod’s cousin,” comparing him to Terence Stamp as the Superman villain in the 1978 film, “Superman.”
“Kneel before Smith!” Colbert joked in his best Zod voice.
“Jack Smith, if that is his real name, has a hell of a resume,” Colbert continued on his CBS show. “To take this assignment, he had to leave his current job at The Hague where he investigated war crimes in Kosovo. So he’s perfectly suited to go after the ex-president: He already has experience dealing with disasters that peaked in the ‘90s.”
NBC’s Seth Meyers said Smith inherited enough evidence from former special counsel Robert Mueller that he could charge Trump soon.
“How long should we give him, a week? Based on the evidence that’s already public, he could’ve interrupted Garland halfway through the press conference introducing him,” the “Late Night” host said Monday. “We’re going to give Jack the time he needs -- ‘Actually, America, could I jump in? I think I’m good to indict.’ I mean, did you see that photo of all the top secret documents spread out on his (Mar-a-Lago) floor? Pretty sure he left his fingerprints in the ketchup blots.”
Garland said he appointed Smith after Trump announced his third run for president. Garland said Friday that Smith would begin his work immediately.
“Appointing a special counsel at this time is the right thing to do,” Garland said. “The extraordinary circumstances presented here demand it. Mr. Smith is the right choice to complete these matters in an even-handed and urgent manner.”
Smith is a graduate of Liverpool High School and SUNY Oneonta who went on to get his law degree from Harvard Law School. He played on Liverpool’s varsity football and baseball teams, according to the school’s 1987 yearbook.
Smith told the Associated Press in 2010 that he believes his job as a prosecutor served people like his parents and the values they instilled in him while he was raised in Central New York.
“They pay their taxes, follow the rules and they expect their public officials to do the same,” Smith told the AP.