The Office of Special Counsel has launched an investigation into Jack Smith for possible violations of the Hatch Act.
Jack Smith was appointed as Special Counsel in 2022 by Joe Biden’s Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate Trump just one day after Trump announced his 2024 bid for the White House.
The Office of Special Counsel opened the investigation after Senator Tom Cotton earlier this week sent a letter alleging Jack Smith’s actions politically harmed Trump during the 2024 election.
The New York Post reported:
The Office of Special Counsel has launched a formal investigation into Jack Smith, the first official legal probe into his conduct, The Post has learned.
Smith is the justice department lawyer who oversaw two criminal investigations into President Donald Trump during the Biden administration, one into Trump’s handling of classified documents, the other as to whether his actions on Jan. 6th, 2021, were an attempt to overturn the 2020 election. Both cases were dismissed.
An email reviewed by The Post states The Hatch Act Unit, which enforces a law restricting government employees from engaging in political activities, has begun reviewing the former Special Counsel for the United States Department of Justice. 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.
“Jack Smith’s actions were clearly driven to hurt President Trump’s election, and Smith should be held fully accountable,” said Senate Intelligence Committee chair Sen Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) in a statement to The Post.
Jack Smith indicted Trump on 37 federal counts in Miami in June 2023 for lawfully storing presidential records at his Mar-a-Lago estate which was protected by Secret Service agents.
Trump was charged with 31 counts under the Espionage Act of willful retention of national defense information and 6 other process crimes stemming from his conversations with his lawyer.
Last summer Judge Cannon dismissed Jack Smith’s classified documents case based on unlawful appointment and funding of the special counsel.
In a separate case in Washington DC, Jack Smith indicted Trump on four counts: Conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.
