Jack Smith, the Biden era special counsel under renewed scrutiny by congressional Republicans, is taking an apparent swipe at President Donald Trump.
In a new letter sent Friday to Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), obtained by POLITICO, lawyers for Smith argue that politics had no influence over their client’s investigations into Trump and agreed it would be unacceptable for any occupant of the White House to leverage law enforcement against a perceived enemy.
“Such political meddling in prosecutorial decision making undermines the credibility of the Justice Department and the integrity of any subsequent enforcement actions,” Lanny Breuer and Peter Koski, lawyers at the firm Covington & Burling, wrote to Grassley. “Political meddling in prosecutorial actions also risks turning impartial law enforcement agencies into partisan tools to protect the President’s allies and punish his perceived adversaries.”
It’s a not-so-veiled jab at Trump, who has faced scrutiny for publicly directing his attorney general to prosecute current or former government officials who investigated him or his campaign.
House and Senate Republicans have been probing whether Smith’s former investigations into Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents and efforts to subvert the results of the 2020 presidential election were motivated by a desire to undermine Republicans. Many Republicans believe Smith’s work is evidence the Justice Department under then-President Joe Biden unfairly targeted conservatives, namely Trump.
Smith ultimately moved to dismiss the criminal cases he brought against Trump after his reelection in 2024, a decision Smith said was driven by Trump’s return to the White House and not the strength of the government’s case.
But Grassley and House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) now want to hear from Smith regarding new revelations the ex-special counsel obtained the phone records of several congressional Republicans as a part of his investigation into Trump’s election interference.
Grassley has said he needs to first gather more information, and Jordan has requested a transcribed interview with Smith. But Smith, through lawyers, has maintained that he wants to speak with lawmakers in a public forum.
Grassley also has asked Smith to answer a number of questions about his investigations. Among them, Grassley wants to know whether he or his staff communicated with Biden White House officials as part of their work and the nature of those communications.
The Iowa Republican also requested further information on Smith’s move to obtain lawmakers’ phone records and information on whether Smith received the data of GOP donors.
In the new letter sent Friday, lawyers for Smith reiterated the request that their client testify in a public reform but did not answer Grassley’s questions.
“Mr. Smith is fully committed to providing information about the work of the Special Counsel’s Office, and we are committed to working with you to provide the public an opportunity to hear directly from Mr. Smith regarding his work,” the attorneys wrote.
Smith has asked the Department of Justice for guidance on what information he can share with lawmakers and for the ability to review files that supported his case to prepare his testimony.
The DOJ has indicated it received the letter and said it would provide more information but has yet to do so, according to a person granted anonymity to describe private correspondence. Another person familiar with the correspondence said the department intends to facilitate Smith’s access to the records, with a goal of having them ready next week.
A spokesperson for Smith declined to comment.
