Office of Special Counsel Investigates Ex-Trump Prosecutor Jack Smith
A federal agency that oversees the conduct of federal employees is investigating former special counsel Jack Smith, who oversaw two criminal cases against President Donald Trump before he returned to the White House.
The Office of Special Counsel (OSC) over the weekend confirmed to several media outlets that it opened an investigation into Smith over allegations he engaged in political activity by bringing criminal charges against Trump before the 2024 election.
The unusual probe marks another instance of a federal agency targeting a public official who attempted to hold Trump accountable. Over the years, Trump has repeatedly publicly attacked Smith for the criminal probes, calling for the former special counsel to be investigated and arrested.
The two indictments Smith brought against Trump accused him of conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and of hoarding classified documents after his first term.
The OSC’s probe comes after Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) asked acting Special Counsel Jamieson Greer to look into Smith, alleging that the charges against Trump violated the Hatch Act, which restricts the political activities of federal employees.
Cotton implied that Smith brought the charges to benefit Democrats before the election.
“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,” Cotton claimed.
Then-Attorney General Merrick Garland tapped Smith to serve as a special counsel in November 2022, and Smith brought charges against Trump in 2023, over a year before the 2024 election.
The OSC did not say whether it’s investigating the two DOJ special counsels Garland appointed to investigate former President Joe Biden and his son Hunter. Those appointments also came around a year before the 2024 election.
The OSC, which is unrelated to DOJ special counsels, is meant to be an independent, non-partisan federal agency that investigates and prosecutes government and political corruption and protects federal employees and whistleblowers from retaliation.
However, like many agencies in Trump’s second term, the OSC’s independence was compromised after Trump fired former Special Counsel Hampton Dellinger and installed loyalists in his place.
Greer is also carrying out Trump’s across-the-board global tariffs as U.S. Trade Representative and acting director of the Office of Government Ethics.
Before Greer, Trump named Doug Collins, one of his ardent supporters and former GOP member of Congress, as acting Special Counsel while he also headed the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Trump nominated Paul Ingrassia, a former far-right podcast host, to permanently head the OSC. Ingrassia has ties to multiple antisemitic extremists and a long history of inflammatory remarks, including calling for the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol to be declared a national holiday. His nomination is currently stalled in the Senate.