Federal officials are investigating former special lawyer Jack Smith after President Donald Trump and other prominent republicans have claimed that his investigations on Trump’s candidate amounted to illegal political activities.
The United States Special Advice Office, an Independent Federal Agency, confirmed to NBC News on Saturday that is investigating Smith for alleged violations of the Hatch Law, a law that prohibits certain political activities by government officials. Trump and his allies have not presented specific evidence of irregularities.
The OSC is different from the type of special lawyer offered previously headed by Smith, who was appointed by the Department of Justice. The Independent Agency lacks the authority to present criminal charges and prosecute people who violate Hatch’s law, but can seek disciplinary actions for a federal government employee, such as the elimination of civil workforce, or send their findings of violations of the Hatch to the Doj law for investigation.
On Wednesday, Senator Tom Cotton, Republican of R-Ark, requested that the OSM investigated Smith “unprecedented interference in the 2024 elections.” A source familiar with the matter says that the OSC affirmed to cotton that he is proceeding with his investigation after his application.
Smith was beaten as a special advisor for the then General Merrick Garland outfit in November 2022 to supervise federal investigations on Trump, who announced his candidacy for the presidency three days before Smith’s appointment. Smith would continue to bring two criminal accusations against the then candidate for Trump in 2023, but resigned just over a week before the inauguration of Trump in January 2024, without having taken the two cases to trial.
“Jack Smith’s legal actions were nothing more than a tool for Biden and Harris campaigns,” Cotton wrote in X this week. “This is not just unusual, it is very likely that the illegal campaign activity of a public office.”
Cotton, partly, alleges that Smith pressed for a “hurried trial” of Trump. The Republican legislator has not publicly presented evidence that he details how Smith’s actions were illegal.
Hatch law violations are usually not sent to the Department of Justice. In 2019, the OSC recommended that the then President Trump eliminate the Counselor of the White House Kellyanne Conway of the Federal Labor Force for violations of the Hatch Law, but the matter was not sent to the Department of Justice.
OSMH’s research was first reported by the New York Post.
The Trump candidate to head the OSC is stagnant in the Senate. A White House official told NBC News that Paul Ingrassia, a former podcast presenter with a history of incendiary comments, will meet with senators in individual meetings during the next month before a confirmation vote takes place.
