All articles tagged with #jack smith
A 2023 memo to Congress alleges Trump showed a classified map to passengers on a private flight in 2022 and retained another ultra-sensitive record accessible to only six people, tied to Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation.
An internal DOJ memo from former special counsel Jack Smith’s office, shared with the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, says Donald Trump kept documents relevant to his business interests after leaving the White House. The memo notes some classified materials were commingled with post-office documents and that only a handful of officials had access to particularly sensitive items. The findings come amid Smith’s investigations into mishandling classified materials and attempts to overturn the 2020 election, and could inform Senate hearings and calls for broader release of Smith’s full report; Democrats urge transparency, while Trump allies dispute the interpretation.
Reuters reports that Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team obtained two grand jury subpoenas and nondisclosure orders related to Kash Patel (now FBI director) that extended beyond phone records to include mailing and email addresses, billing and IP data, and banking information, covering 2020–2023 in a probe tied to Trump’s 2020 election interference and the Mar-a-Lago classified-documents matter; the exact scope and allegations remain unclear, with Democrats defending Smith and the FBI noting past leadership’s actions were criticized.
CBS News reports that at least 10 FBI employees who worked on Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into President Trump’s handling of classified documents were fired. The moves followed a Reuters article about subpoenas of phone records for Kash Patel and Susie Wiles; Patel’s claims were not independently verified. All fired personnel were involved in the classified-documents case, and the FBI Agents Association criticized the firings as a breach of due process. The piece also references Smith’s dual probes and related political and administrative fallout.
At least 10 FBI agents who worked on Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigations into President Trump’s handling of classified records and the Mar-a-Lago documents case were fired. The firings followed a Reuters report that the FBI subpoenaed phone records of Susie Wiles and Kash Patel; Patel alleged the subpoenas were issued on flimsy grounds, though CBS News could not verify his claims about his own records. The FBI Agents Association called the firings a violation of due process, while Smith’s dual probes previously produced high-profile actions and subsequent personnel changes by the Trump administration.
Florida Judge Aileen Cannon permanently blocks the Justice Department from releasing Volume II of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s report on Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents, saying disclosure would breach the dismissal order and cause irreparable harm; the decision keeps parts of Smith’s work secret amid criticism from watchdog groups and Trump allies.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon permanently barred the release of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s two-volume report on Trump’s handling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago and related investigations, saying disclosure would be a manifest injustice to Trump and co-defendants since charges were dismissed and no guilt adjudicated.
A Florida federal judge blocked the public release of Volume II of Jack Smith's final report on the Trump classified-documents case, saying Smith acted without lawful authority and that disclosure would cause irreparable harm by exposing non-public materials and undermining fairness, while also denying a request to destroy the report and signaling possible appeals.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon permanently barred the DOJ from releasing Special Counsel Jack Smith’s final report on Trump’s handling of Mar-a-Lago classified documents, saying disclosure now would violate fairness and risk attorney‑client privilege and grand-jury secrecy, amounting to a manifest injustice since the case never went to trial. Cannon criticized Smith for proceeding after she previously ruled his appointment unconstitutional, noted the report’s release could undermine the Dismissal Order, and said the parties largely agreed not to disclose. She denied intervention by groups seeking disclosure and left FOIA requests blocked unless a higher court overturns her order, highlighting ongoing controversy over the Mar‑a‑Lago case and Smith’s findings.
The Senate is expected to adopt House-passed repeal language that would erase a 2021 provision allowing certain Republican senators to sue the federal government for cash if their phone records were seized during the Jack Smith probe, with the repeal tied to a government funding package as lawmakers rush to avert a shutdown.
Jack Smith, three years into his role as special counsel, tells a House committee that Trump engaged in criminal activity undermining democracy—a legal argument he says he was never allowed to present in court.
Former special counsel Jack Smith defended his finding that Trump willfully broke the law in efforts to overturn the 2020 election during a five-hour House Judiciary Committee hearing, pushing back on GOP claims of politicization and stressing that no one is above the law; the tense hearing featured sharp exchanges as Smith defended the strength of the evidence and asserted Trump’s attempts to undermine the results.
During a House Judiciary Committee hearing, beaten Jan. 6 officer Michael Fanone interrupted Republican Rep. Troy Nehls as he tried to shift blame for the January 6 riot to Capitol Police leadership. Fanone’s retort followed Nehls’s remarks, while fellow officers in attendance listened as Jack Smith testified about accountability and threats to democracy, underscoring the ongoing debate over responsibility for the Capitol attack.
House lawmakers moved four fiscal 2026 spending bills forward—including a DHS package with ICE funding—setting up final votes before the Jan. 30 funding deadline. On the same day, former DOJ prosecutor Jack Smith testified publicly before the House Judiciary Committee, with Republicans pressing him on procedure while Democrats defended the prosecutions against Trump. Trump weighed in from Davos and on Truth Social as lawmakers also cleared a path for amendments to the funding package, created an ethanol policy working group to placate farm-state Republicans, and overturned a Senate policy on data-seizure payouts; Capitol Police officers attended the Smith hearing.
Former Special Counsel Jack Smith testified publicly before the House Judiciary Committee to defend the indictments against Donald Trump, while Trump urged that Smith be prosecuted. Republicans pressed questions about Smith’s independence and the subpoenas; Democrats praised him. The testimony covered Smith’s two federal cases—the effort to overturn the 2020 election and a classified-documents probe—both of which were dropped after Trump’s 2024 reelection, and Smith said he would prosecute again under the same facts if asked.