House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) on Tuesday demanded the Department of Justice (DOJ) produce documents in connection to special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into former President Donald Trump’s classified documents case.
The letter, dated Tuesday and addressed to Attorney General Merrick Garland, stated that the DOJ hasn’t responded to previous requests about Smith’s probe. Smith was named as special counsel last year, coming months after the FBI raided Trump’s Mar-a-Lago for allegedly classified documents.
“The Committee on the Judiciary is continuing to investigate the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) unprecedented raid of President Trump’s residence at Mar-a-Lago on August 8, 2022,” Jordan wrote (pdf) in the letter. “We previously requested information and documents related to the FBI’s raid on President Trump’s residence and its subsequent investigation.”
“Because you have not provided this information, and in light of your appointment of Jack Smith as special counsel, we write to request an unredacted copy of the memorandum outlining the scope of Mr. Smith’s probes regarding President Trump and any supporting documentation related to his appointment as special counsel,” Jordan wrote, demanding that Garland and the DOJ produce relevant records to his committee by June 20.
Jordan did not say what would happen if Garland fails to comply with the demands. In a separate case, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) have said they would consider holding FBI Director Christopher Wray in contempt of Congress for failing to produce a document that allegedly reveals a bribery scheme involving President Joe Biden.
“Please provide the committee with an unredacted copy of the memorandum outlining the scope of Special Counsel Smith’s investigations pursuant to his appointment on November 18, 2022, and any other document describing, listing, or delineating the authority and jurisdiction of the special counsel as soon as possible,” Jordan wrote.
Jordan, meanwhile, has sent Garland letters concerning whether the Smith investigation into the former president is tainted. It came in light of findings made by special counsel John Durham, who released a lengthy report that signaled that FBI officials acted irresponsibly when the bureau opened an investigation into whether Trump colluded with Russia after the 2016 election.
In a letter last week, Jordan asked the DOJ to provide more information about the FBI personnel assigned to the Smith investigation, namely if those individuals were involved in previous Trump-related cases.
Jordan wrote (pdf) in that letter to Garland that Durham’s report last month “details how the FBI abused its law-enforcement authorities to achieve a political end—that is, hamstring the campaign and presidency of President Trump.” Durham is now scheduled to testify before the House Judiciary Committee in a hearing set for June 21.
Jordan also wrote that he wants to know if Smith’s investigation uses any information that was gathered by the FBI before Durham’s appointment by then-Attorney General Bill Barr in late 2020. For that demand, Jordan gave Garland until June 15 to respond.
The Epoch Times has contacted the Department of Justice for comment. In a statement to other news outlets Tuesday, the agency acknowledged it received Jordan’s letter but declined to comment.
During a November announcement, Garland claimed that Smith would oversee “the investigation into whether any person or entity unlawfully interfered with the transfer of power following the 2020 presidential election or with the certification of Electoral College vote held on or about Jan. 6,” referring to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach.
“The special counsel will also conduct the investigation involving classified documents and other presidential records, as well as the possible obstruction of that investigation,” the attorney general also said at the time.
Previously, Jordan issued a subpoena to Mark Pomerantz, a former prosecutor who previously oversaw the Manhattan District Attorney’s office probe into Trump, coming after Trump was indicted on charges that stem from payments he made in 2016. Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges and said the investigation, too, is motivated by a political animus against him.
After a court fight, Pomerantz ultimately provided testimony to Jordan’s committee. Pomerantz, who has been publicly critical of Trump, released his statement to NBC News in which he described Jordan’s probe as “political theater.”
Reports this week indicated that Trump’s lawyers met with Smith and other DOJ officials in regard to the classified materials case. Trump, who has categorically denied any wrongdoing and said the probe is a politically motivated witch hunt, has not been charged with a crime in relation to the case.
Last month, Trump posted a letter from his attorneys to the DOJ and Garland asserting that “unlike President Biden, his son Hunter, and the Biden family, President Trump is being treated unfairly” as they sought “a meeting at your earliest convenience to discuss the ongoing injustice that is being perpetrated by your Special Counsel.”
From The Epoch Times
