Agency Opens Investigation of Jack Smith, at GOP Request

A federal investigation of Jack Smith has begun, requested by a Republican senator and following up on allegations by President Trump and his allies that the former special counsel's actions constituted illegal political activity. The Office of Special Counsel, which is not connected to the operation Smith led, told NBC News on Saturday that it's looking into whether Smith violated the Hatch Act, which prohibits certain political activities by government officials. Sen. Tom Cotton asked the office to investigate, accusing Smith of "unprecedented interference in the 2024 election."

Cotton listed as examples Smith's decisions to seeking quick trial dates in the two criminal cases Trump faced, actions that the senator said were intended to influence the presidential election. The New York Times points out a couple of ways the investigation is unusual. The agency typically looks into possible violations of federal rules about the civil service, not prosecutorial decisions. Lawyers for fired or demoted government employees already have complained that the office isn't carrying out its usual duties during the Trump administration. Trump fired the head of the office in February while Hampton Dellinger was pushing to have thousands of probationary federal workers the administration had fired reinstated.

Also, Smith is no longer a federal employee, having left before Trump took office. The prosecutions of Trump, who was then a candidate, were dropped after last fall's election. Smith issued a report saying the only reason for abandoning the cases was a Department of Justice policy against prosecuting sitting presidents. The Office of Special Counsel is an independent agency. It lacks the authority to investigate criminal matters, per ABC News.