Republican lawmakers ask for DOJ to investigate Jack Smith
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and other GOP lawmakers requested the Department of Justice (DOJ) investigate former special counsel Jack Smith on Friday.
“Jack Smith was a rogue special counsel on a weaponized witch hunt against Republican Senators,” Blackburn wrote on social platform X. “There must be consequences for this abuse of power.”
She sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi — alongside Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Dan Sullivan (Alaska), Tommy Tuberville (Ala.) and Rep. Mike Kelly (Pa.) — that alleged Smith had taken “concerted steps to spy on duly elected members of Congress.”
“In addition to these constitutional concerns, we believe that Jack Smith engaged in serious prosecutorial misconduct,” the Republicans wrote.
Blackburn and the other lawmakers requested that Smith be referred to the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), a DOJ division that investigates lawyers employed by the department who have been accused of a crime or professional misconduct.
Following the investigation, the officials requested that the OPR refer its findings to Tennessee and New York state agencies that review the conduct of attorneys. Smith is licensed to practice law in both states.
The officials wrote that the state agencies “should consider all options in holding Smith accountable for this misconduct—including disbarment.”
Smith led two investigations into President Trump’s alleged election interference and alleged mishandling of classified documents in his role as DOJ special counsel.
As part of its election probe, the FBI analyzed the phone records of nine Republican lawmakers, including Blackburn. The Tennessee senator wrote in the letter that these documents had been sought “without our knowledge and consent.”
“To the best we can tell, Smith’s team went on this fishing expedition for one simple reason: we are Republicans who support President Trump,” Blackburn and the other legislators wrote.
Smith resigned from the DOJ in January after completing his investigations. He had signaled in a court filing last year his intent to resign after Trump won the November general election, citing internal policy preventing the prosecution of a sitting president.
He defended the federal charges against Trump stemming from his DOJ investigations in an interview in early October, denying it had been politically motivated.
“The idea that politics played a role in who worked on that case, or who got chosen, is ludicrous,” he said.
Smith expressed concern for the “incalculable” cost of the Trump administration’s persecution of perceived political enemies.
In the last month, three of Trump’s political opponents — New York Attorney General Letitia James, former FBI Director James Comey, and former national security adviser John Bolton — have been indicted on federal charges.
“If you are driven to achieve certain outcomes no matter what, that’s a real problem,” Smith said. “That’s not something I saw in the Department of Justice. … Nothing like what we see now has ever gone on.”