‘Based on publicly available information, the Committee has significant concerns about your commitment to evenhanded justice.’
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and House Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance Chairman Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) have demanded documents from special counsel Jack Smith seeking information about his investigation of former President Donald Trump, and threatening a subpoena if the Department of Justice (DOJ) continues to ignore similar requests they submitted earlier this year.
“Based on publicly available information, the Committee has significant concerns about your commitment to evenhanded justice,” the House Republicans wrote on Thursday in a letter to the special counsel.
Mr. Jordan and Mr. Biggs are asking for documents, including communications between the special counsel and the U.S. Attorney General’s office regarding investigating and prosecuting President Trump, salaries and travel costs incurred by special counsel staff working on the Trump case, and hiring criteria for the team.
They gave a deadline of Jan. 4 for the requested materials.
Mr. Smith is prosecuting former President Donald Trump in two separate federal criminal investigations, one alleging mishandling of classified documents and another alleging interference in the 2020 elections. He was appointed special counsel last November to investigate matters related to Jan. 6, 2021.
The committee chairs pointed out that this is a prosecution by the Biden administration of “President Biden’s chief opponent in the upcoming presidential election,” and that a record showing partiality has emerged.
“You have a record of attempting to criminalize political discourse, as evidenced by your reported interest in how the Justice Department could prosecute conservative tax-exempt groups engaging in constitutionally protected political speech,” the letter reads.
They called into question Mr. Smith’s appointment as special counsel, raising questions of “fairness and justice.”
They cited a Washington Post report that quoted top DOJ officials opposing the investigation into President Trump for his role on Jan. 6, and recent reports that the special counsel demanded from Twitter (now X) information about users who reposted or liked President Trump’s posts.
This is within the committee’s purview, they noted, because it could inform legislation “including possible reforms regarding politically motivated prosecutions.”
By Catherine Yang
