The Trump administration is investigating former Special Counsel Jack Smith for his handling of two prosecutions of Donald Trump leading up to the 2024 election.
The Office of Special Counsel, an independent watchdog agency tasked with preventing partisan activities by federal employees, is investigating Smith for allegedly playing politics with his cases against Trump, one of which focused on Trump’s handling of classified documents and the other of which was based on allegations that Trump’s role in the January 6, 2021 Capitol Riot constituted election interference. Both cases were dismissed.
“I can confirm that the Office of Special Counsel has opened an investigation into Jack Smith’s conduct during the election. No one is above the law. I encourage OSC to release as much information as possible to the public, and do it as quickly as possible,” Senator Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) said on X Monday.
The New York Post first reported on the investigation.
Cotton pushed for an inquiry into Smith’s conduct on the grounds that he tried to hurt Trump’s 2024 prospects by rushing the 2020 election interference case to trial and by filing an enormous, irregular brief less than two months before the election.
The Office of Special Counsel is now looking into whether Smith violated the Hatch Act by using his cases to hinder President Trump’s 2024 election prospects.
Although the special counsel cannot pursue criminal charges, Smith could face fines and other penalties if he is found in violation of the Hatch Act. The Hatch Act bars federal employees from partaking in partisan activity but is rarely enforced.
Then-Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Smith special counsel at the Justice Department in 2022, a separate position from the independent agency investigating him. Both of Smith’s indictments against Trump were brought in 2023 and the legal proceedings made front page news throughout 2024 as Trump ran for another term.
Trump and his Republican allies strongly criticized Smith throughout his tenure and routinely accused him of being a partisan prosecutor intent on helping then-President Biden and Vice President Harris take down Trump. Garland has denied that he had any partisan intent in appointing Smith and insists the Trump cases were handled properly.
Neither of Smith’s cases ended up going to trial because of a string of legal victories Trump secured along the way, including a 2024 Supreme Court ruling that expanded presidential immunity to cover official acts.
Smith resigned in January after wrapping up his two cases following Trump’s decisive electoral victory this past November. Trump was prepared to fire Smith immediately if he had stayed on.
In February, Trump fired Hampton Dellinger, Biden’s appointee to run the Office of Special Counsel, and the dismissal was upheld after Dellinger waged a high-profile legal battle in federal court.
Trump’s trade representative Jamieson Greer is running the Office of Special Counsel on an acting basis until the Senate confirms a replacement. The president initially picked right-wing provocateur Paul Ingrassia to run the agency, but his nomination appears to be dead on arrival in the Senate.