Most people who start a job as badly as Wyoming’s new U.S. Attorney Darin Smith did find themselves quickly unemployed.
Opinion
Smith, as anyone who has looked at his incredible lack of credentials knows, isn’t remotely qualified for the position as the state’s top federal prosecutor. The former state senator from Cheyenne had no experience as either a prosecutor or defense attorney, and hadn’t argued any case in a courtroom or even requested an arrest warrant.
Smith’s nomination by President Donald Trump would be laughable if it wasn’t such a serious, outrageous mistake, a thumbing of the nose at the justice system by a chief executive who has a long history of picking the most unqualified people to lead powerful offices. A glance at Trump’s cabinet proves that.
Three days after three federal judges dismissed charges against nine defendants — including one for first-degree murder — over Smith’s misconduct before a grand jury, he was confirmed in a partisan, en bloc vote by the U.S. Senate.
How is this possible? Well, in a U.S. Senate where not a single Republican member was willing to stand up to the president and vote against a package of U.S. attorney picks, an abysmal option got through.
Wyoming’s U.S. Sens. John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis cheered Smith’s nomination and voted to confirm him. They would have rubber-stamped any choice Trump made, probably even a rubber chicken.
As the interim U.S. attorney for Wyoming, Smith infamously led a March grand jury by calling defendants “murderers” and “bad people,” and promised the panel that its deliberations “won’t take long.” Smith also confirmed to a grand juror that these were indeed “slam dunk” cases, and even offered every member his business card.
Why did Smith make that latter move, when prosecutors are not supposed to communicate with grand jurors outside the court? Did he expect grand jurors to call him so they could go out for dinner and discuss what a great job he did? Toast each other for putting away so many bad guys?
“The cumulative effect of the many known instances of misconduct leaves the court with ‘grave doubt that the [grand jury’s] decision to indict was free from the substantial influence of such violations,’” wrote the three Wyoming federal judges who reviewed the cases and dismissed the charges.
The charges included first-degree murder on the Wind River Indian Reservation, along with felony firearm possession, drug distribution, and possession of child pornography, among other allegations.
The judges dismissed all charges “without prejudice,” meaning they could be re-filed at any time, which is what happened last week. Success on round two doesn’t amount to much in my book. Empaneling another grand jury was an unnecessary waste of taxpayer dollars.
That’s evidenced by the fact that even the U.S Attorney’s Office for the District of Wyoming called Smith’s comments “ill-advised.”
Ill-advised? What does it take to give a federal prosecutor an “F” grade on his report card?
Well, maybe a mass exodus is one way to assess how well Smith is doing his job. Four attorneys have left the office in the past month, and another is headed out the door in June.
Their support for Smith is an example of how well Wyoming’s two U.S. senators are able to assess what qualifies someone to be a high-ranking prosecutor in Trump’s administration. In a statement last year when Smith was chosen, Barrasso called him “well-qualified” and “a good conservative choice.”
Lummis, who is an attorney, said Smith “possesses the qualifications, experience, and values needed to take on this challenging role.”
Perhaps by describing Smith as a good conservative, Barrasso is thinking about when our state’s new top federal prosecutor stood outside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as it was being invaded by MAGA forces who were busy inside assaulting police officers, threatening members of Congress and calling for then-Vice President Mike Pence to be hanged.
There’s no evidence that Smith participated in any crimes during the riot, nor was he ever charged with anything connected to that horrible day. But he certainly didn’t attend so he could gather evidence against anyone on the off chance that he could be prosecuting them in a future Trump administration.
Meanwhile, the most angry admonitions not to confirm Smith came from the Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone tribes on the Wind River Indian Reservation. Crimes on the reservation are generally prosecuted by the Wyoming-based U.S. attorney.
The tribes’ separate business councils expressed being appalled and alarmed by Smith’s handling of the grand jury and the subsequent dismissal of charges, including the first-degree murder charge against Joe Benito Ocon, who is accused of shooting a man in a moving car on the reservation. He faces a mandatory life sentence if convicted of the crime.
Smith’s office is entrusted with prosecuting serious violent crimes under the federal Major Crimes Act — crimes that deeply impact Native families and communities.
“Federal prosecutors are expected to uphold the integrity of the justice system, not undermine it through reckless comments, improper familiarity with grand jurors, or conduct that creates the appearance of bias and prejudice,” the Northern Arapaho Business Council said in a statement.
The council concluded, “The people of the Wind River Reservation deserve better.”
So do we all. But that won’t happen with so many federal officials willing to make a mockery of the justice system and all it stands for by putting an inherently unqualified man in such a vital position.
Mr. Drake: Good one as usual. The Rethuglicans promised us a meritocracy (rule by the best). Instead we get a kakistocracy (rule by the worst, least qualified, most unscrupulous people).
Has anybody checked to see if this guy really has a law degree and that he passed the bar. The mistakes he made are taught to first year law students. Probably pre law or anybody that watches Law and Order.
People in Wyoming are starting to wake up but I don’t think it’s going to be soon enough for the primary’s . I know several people that were big trumpers. Now, the are bowing there heads and saying, How stupid was I to vote for this idiot three times?
I do feel a little bad for the orange one as I seriously think he has dementia. Notice I just said a little. I knew two people in my life that had dementia and it’s a terrible disease. Some times they didn’t recognize me. I felt sorry for them .
But, they were both in memory units and were not running the country. That’s where the orange one belongs. In a memory unit with his secret service detail of course.
However, the people I am really don’t feel sorry for at all is our Wyoming’s senators.
I have met both of them several times and they seemed like pretty smart people.
Apparently they are not. They are to Cowardly to stand up for Wyoming values
Oh crap I got of topic and don’t remember what I was writing about. Hmmmm.
Of yeah people that are not qualified for a job…..Chuck Gray. Crap off topic again. ….
We are talking about Darin Smith. I am guessing Trump appointed his because he was at the January 6th riots. That a really good qualification. Makes him highly qualified for the Job.
I really miss the America I grew up in and the state I grew up in. The Wyoming way is Truth and Justice and helping your neighbor.
We need to get voters out on primary day and vote out Barrasso, Lummis and the rest of trumps cronies! Time to kick the Repubs out of Wyoming lawmaking!
Great job, Kerry! Is it not glorious that my home state is following the Trumpkopf DeathCULT47 modus operandi of putting in completely unqualified people—term used loosely—into office. The Wind River Reservation needs to take back judging criminals from the Wyoming Federal Prosecutor.
Our current congressional delegation is a total embarrassment to the state of Wyoming. If they’ve ever listened to their constituents they obviously aren’t anymore. Here’s hoping ( and it’s a huge hope) that the residents of this state wake up before the upcoming primary and send some decent people to Washington. Anyone who’s hanging onto Trump’s coattails certainly won’t change what’s happening back there.
I wonder if our Wyoming Congress people Barasso and Lummis read Any of the print, much less the fine print, surrounding the Smith appointment. I’m disappointed in their disregard for State and nation priorities and ethics.
I agree 100%! It is a disgrace to the great state of Wyoming. If I worked at McDonalds and said something to the fact that these people were “murderers” I would probably be fired! But a U.S. attorney representing the state! Those statements were “ill advised”. Really? I would like to hand out some business cards to our governor Gordon, Barrasso and Lummis, maybe I am qualified with a bachelors degree in education to be the next U.S. attorney! I damn sure know it is against the law to sway or influence a grand jury!!
Smith’s appointment is just one more in a very long list of in-your-face insults to the norms and unwritten rules of American government that Trumpty has gleefully perpetrated since beginning his revenge tour 16 months ago. Of course Smith is unqualified, none of Trumpty’s picks for any job have been competent and qualified, with the sole exception of Little Marco as State Secretary, who was nominated only after agreeing to self-emasculate, and abandon all personal integrity and all previously held political positions and beliefs. Trumpty HATES and is intimidated by competent people, probably because he himself has so few competencies. If there ever were any doubts about what this 2nd administration was gonna be like, they were quickly eliminated when one of T’s first picks was Matt Gaetz for AG. And of course, it only got worse from there, RFK Jr. for HHS secretary, Tulsa-Time Gabbard for DNI, Bondo-Job to replace the withdrawn Gaetz for AG, Puppy Killer at DHS.
Competent people of integrity, particularly in the DOJ, are a threat to the implementation of Trumpty’s illegal agenda and therefore cannot be allowed to hold important jobs like us Attorney.
Wyoming has its Roy Bean. Considerably less colorful, though …
Just another example of how clearly apparent that our delegation serves its master rather than the interests of the people they claim to represent. What hypocrites.
Kerry, we’re in an era that rewards bad, no – atrocious behavior in politics. Just a trickle down effect from the oval office.
You MAGA goofs should consider what you’re leaving your children. A broken system of weak- even criminal- politicians and a country reduced to grifters and toadies. Some of the very worst are Lummis, Barrasso and Hageman. These ‘people’ are a shameful lot. Wake up.
A great job of illuminating facts Kerry! Bringing to light, again, the embarrassing sycophantic actions of those who would purport to represent Wyoming citizens in our nations capitol will hopefully help to remove the MAGA blinders a majority of our voters wear. Gordon, naming these representatives as “shameful” is correct but, though harsh, it doesn’t seem to be entirely on point. Shameful, I believe, should also apply to those who continue to vote for them.
I was hoping he could be more functional in the new job than as a legislator