The Office of Special Counsel (OSC) has launched an investigation into Jack Smith, a DOJ lawyer who led two criminal investigations into President Donald Trump during the Biden administration – one, into Trump’s handling of classified documents, and the other, which sought to prove that Trump’s actions on Jan. 6, 2021 were an attempt to overturn the 2020 election. Both cases were ultimately tossed.
According to an email reviewed by the NY Post, Smith is being investigated by the Hatch Act Unit, which enforces a law that restricts government employees from engaging in political activities. The email was written by Senior Counsel Charles Baldis at OSC.
“I appreciate the Office of Special Counsel taking this seriously and launching an investigation into Jack Smith’s conduct. No one is above the law,” Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AK) said in a statement to The Post. “Jack Smith’s actions were clearly driven to hurt President Trump’s election, and Smith should be held fully accountable.”
OSC launched the investigation following a letter from Cotton which accused Smith of taking blatantly political actions to undermine President Trump during his 2024 White House run.
Smith notably resigned from his post as Special Counsel in January, after President Trump’s inauguration.
Smith’s actions as prosecutor have been widely criticized by Republicans who saw the prosecutions as an effort to weaponize the justice system against Trump and hobble his election chances in 2024.
In his letter to OSC, Cotton explains how Smith’s actions undermined Trump’s political efforts.
“Jack Smith’s legal actions were nothing more than a tool for the Biden and Harris campaigns. This isn’t just unethical, it is very likely illegal campaign activity from a public office,” Cotton said.
“Many of Smith’s legal actions seem to have no rationale except for an attempt to affect the 2024 election results – actions that would violate federal law.”
“These actions were not standard, necessary, or justified,” Cotton wrote. “They were the actions of a political actor masquerading as a public official.”
Smith, meanwhile, has been mum on the allegations – though he has maintained that during his time as Special Counsel he followed legal protocols and was untainted by political influence (lol).
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