House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan is demanding the Biden administration’s Department of Justice produce documents outlining the scope of special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into classified documents found after an FBI raid of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
The letter, dated Tuesday and addressed to President Joe Biden’s attorney general, Merrick Garland, said the DOJ has failed to respond to past requests for information.
“The Committee on the Judiciary is continuing to investigate the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) unprecedented raid of President Trump’s residence at Mar-a-Lago on August 8, 2022,” Jordan wrote. “We previously requested information and documents related to the FBI’s raid on President Trump’s residence and its subsequent investigation.
“Because you have not provided this information, and in light of your appointment of Jack Smith as special counsel, we write to request an unredacted copy of the memorandum outlining the scope of Mr. Smith’s probes regarding President Trump and any supporting documentation related to his appointment as special counsel.”
? #BREAKING: @Jim_Jordan requests unredacted copy of the memorandum outlining the scope of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s probes regarding President Trump. pic.twitter.com/LD3zMcWziW
— House Judiciary GOP (@JudiciaryGOP) June 6, 2023
“Accordingly, please provide the Committee with an unredacted copy of the memorandum outlining the scope of Special Counsel Smith’s investigations pursuant to his appointment on November 18, 2022, and any other document describing, listing, or delineating the authority and jurisdiction of the special counsel as soon as possible, but no later than 5:00 p.m. on June 20, 2023,” the letter said.
The Ohio Republican’s letter came one day after attorneys for Trump met with Smith and others at the Justice Department, according to NBC News. The grand jury empaneled to hear arguments from prosecutors about Trump’s possession of classified documents is expected to meet this week, the report said.
Last week, Jordan wrote to Garland over concerns that any investigation into Trump might be tainted, citing the report of special counsel John Durham.
“The extent of the FBI’s bias and reckless disregard for the truth, which Special Counsel Durham laid out in painstaking detail, is nothing short of scandalous,” the Judiciary Committee chairman wrote. “The FBI has tried to dismiss the report’s findings by claiming to have ‘already implemented dozens of corrective actions’ to prevent similar misconduct in the future.”
“The FBI’s window dressing is not enough. The Special Counsel’s report serves as a stark reminder of the need for more accountability and reforms within the FBI,” he said.
Citing “the institutional rot that pervades the FBI,” Jordan wanted to know how many FBI personnel worked on the investigation of Trump’s handling of classified documents and if any previously investigated the former president.
?#BREAKING: Jim Jordan Probes the FBI’s Role In Trump Special Counsel Investigation pic.twitter.com/lXAEOrIFB7
— House Judiciary GOP (@JudiciaryGOP) June 2, 2023
Jordan also said he wants to know if Smith’s investigation relies on any information secured by the FBI prior to Durham’s appointment. Jordan gave Garland a June 15 deadline to respond.
In a Truth Social post on Monday, Trump accused the federal prosecutors probing him in connection to the documents matter of carrying out “THE GREATEST WITCH HUNT OF ALL TIME!”
The former president and leading GOP presidential contender in 2024 continued his attack Tuesday in another Truth Social post.
“The Marxists and Fascists in the DOJ & FBI are going after me at a level and speed never seen before in our Country, and I did nothing wrong,” he wrote.
“THE GREATEST WITCH HUNT OF ALL TIME!” pic.twitter.com/gW6yKZZOIo
— Liz Harrington (@realLizUSA) June 5, 2023
“Joe Biden kept (keeps) thousand of documents, in many locations, some illegally taken from skiffs while he was a Senator, a big portion of which were classified,” Trump said. “He didn’t want to give them back, and still doesn’t. Nothing happens to him, with same reasonable prosecutor who correctly exonerated Mike Pence. I have a much different prosecutor, a Trump hater!”
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.