'Illegal campaign activity': GOP senator prompts Trump admin to investigate Jack Smith [View all]

Source: msn/Alternet

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Former Department of Justice (DOJ) special counsel Jack Smith is now under investigation by President Donald Trump's administration, following a complaint filed by a Republican member of the U.S. Senate. The New York Post reported Friday that the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) — an independent agency not to be confused with Smith's former role at the DOJ — had launched a Hatch Act investigation into Smith, after Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) alleged Smith's investigation into Trump was politically driven (the Hatch Act prohibits federal employees from engaging in political activity while on the job).

"Jack Smith’s actions were clearly driven to hurt President Trump’s election, and Smith should be held fully accountable," Cotton told the Post. "Jack Smith’s legal actions were nothing more than a tool for the Biden and Harris campaigns. This isn’t just unethical, it is very likely illegal campaign activity from a public office," the Arkansas Republican wrote in his letter to OSC. "Many of Smith’s legal actions seem to have no rationale except for an attempt to affect the 2024 election results – actions that would violate federal law." "These actions were not standard, necessary, or justified,” Cotton added. “They were the actions of a political actor masquerading as a public official.”

Smith was tapped by then-Attorney General Merrick Garland to head two criminal probes into Trump — one for his role in the January 6, 2021 siege of the U.S. Capitol, and another for allegedly mishandling troves of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. Trump faced four felony charges in the January 6 investigation, and 37 felony charges in the classified documents case.

The trial in the January 6 case was delayed until after the 2024 election after Trump successfully appealed his ability to stand trial as president to the Supreme Court. That prompted the Court's conservative majority to issue its landmark July 1, 2024 ruling in the Trump v. United States case giving presidents absolute broad immunity from criminal prosecution for anything deemed an "official act."

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/illegal-campaign-activity-gop-senator-prompts-trump-admin-to-investigate-jack-smith/ar-AA1JL8Vp