American federal officials say they have investigated former Special Advocate Jack Smith, who led two federal criminal cases against President Donald Trump before resigning from his post earlier this year.
The office of the Special Counsel (OSC) confirmed the BBC that an inquiry of Mr. Smith was underway, but refused to add further details.
Mr. Smith was appointed as a special lawyer in 2022 to investigate Trump’s classified documents allegedly investigating and investigate his alleged attempt to intervene in the 2020 election.
The OSC does not have the right to make criminal allegations against Mr. Smith, but it can initiate disciplinary action or refer to its findings to the Department of Justice.
As an independent federal agency, the main function of the OSC is to investigate and address the violation of federal rules by the members of the US Civil Service.
It is operated separately from the offices of the Special Counsel under the Department of Justice – such as under the leadership of Mr. Smith in the past – who can make federal criminal allegations under the Department of Justice.
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The US media said on Saturday that the OSC is investigating Mr. Smith for the alleged violation of the Hatch Act, a law that banned political activities by government officials.
It comes after Tom Cotton, a Republican Senator in Arkansas, called the OSC to investigate Mr. Smith for “unprecedented intervention in 2024 elections”.
Mr. Smith was tapped by former Attorney General Merick Garland in November 2022 to oversee the federal inquiry at Trump.
Both of the cases he investigated made criminal allegations against the President, who requested not to be guilty and demanded to cast the prosecutors as politically motivated.
The matters were later closed after Trump’s presidential election in November 2024, as the rules of the Department of Justice refused the prosecution of a sitting president.
Earlier this week, in a post on X, cotton said the investigation and allegations as “nothing more than a tool for biden and Harris campaigns”.
“This is likely to have an illegal campaign activity from a public office,” wrote by Cotton.
The BBC has asked Mr. Smith’s lawyer to comment on the OSC investigation.
Trump investigated the OSC in February after evacuating the former Trump chief, Hampton Delegon, when advocated for probationary employees set up by the Trump administration, after restoring them.
A judge later ruled that Mr. Delinger’s firing was illegal, but a federal circuit court ruled that the Trump administration could replace Mr. Delinger, while his legal battle against his expulsion makes its way through courts.
Mr. Delinger left the legal case in March, saying that he did not expect the Supreme Court to rule in his favor.
“Meanwhile, the agency damage and those who rely on it are caused by a special lawyer who is not independent, immediate, complaint, and, I am afraid, useless,” they warned in March.
Mr. Smith is not the first former government official to investigate under Trump Administration.
In May, the Secret Service began an investigation by former FBI director James Comi, when he shared, a social media post of Seedles was removed that Republican had allegedly provoked a violence against Trump. Under Barack Obama, from 2013 to 2017, FBI Director, Joe Comi denied the allegations.
Earlier this month, the US media reported that Mr. Komi and former CIA Director John Brainon were also investigating the Congress to make an incorrect statement as part of their investigation into the investigation into Russian intervention in the 2016 election.
Mr. Brainon later told NBC that he believes that his investigation is “an example of the continuous politicization of the intelligence community under Trump.
