Two House Republican committee chairmen have called on special counsel Jack Smith to preserve all records surrounding the Biden-Harris administration’s prosecutions of now President-elect Donald Trump.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio and House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight Chairman Barry Loudermilk of Georgia sent a letter Friday to Mr. Smith’s office reiterating outstanding requests.
“The Committee on the Judiciary is continuing its oversight of the Department of Justice and the Office of Special Counsel. According to recent public reports, prosecutors in your office have been ‘gaming out legal options’ in the event that President Donald Trump won the election,” Mr. Jordan and Mr. Loudermilk wrote.
“With President Trump’s decisive victory this week, we are concerned that the Office of Special Counsel may attempt to purge relevant records, communications and documents responsive to our numerous requests for information.”
The two lawmakers said, “The Office of Special Counsel is not immune from transparency or above accountability for its actions.”
Mr. Jordan and Mr. Loudermilk want documents and communications as soon as possible and no later than Nov. 22.
This includes material relating to meetings between FBI and Justice Department officials sent to or received by Mr. Smith before the 2022 execution of the search warrant on Mr. Trump’s home.
The two lawmakers also want documents and communications referring or relating to the hiring and selection of current and former Office of Special Counsel staff members.
They also requested all documents and communications between or among the Office of Special Counsel, the Office of the Attorney General or the Office of the Deputy Attorney General referring or relating to the investigation and prosecution of Mr. Trump.
Both Republicans warned Mr. Smith about destroying or altering any documents related to these cases.
They wrote that their letter serves as a “formal request to preserve all existing and future records and materials related to the Office of Special Counsel’s investigations and prosecutions of President Trump.”
“You should construe this preservation notice as an instruction to take all reasonable steps to prevent the destruction or alteration, whether intentionally or negligently, of all documents, communications and other information, including electronic information and metadata, that are or may be responsive to this congressional inquiry,” they wrote.
“This instruction includes all electronic messages sent using official and personal accounts or devices, including records created using text messages, phone-based message applications or encryption software.”
Officials at the Department of Justice, NBC News reported, are reviewing how to wind down the two federal criminal cases against Mr. Trump before he’s sworn into office Jan. 20 to comply with long-standing department policy that a sitting president cannot be prosecuted.
Although Mr. Smith took legal steps in the election interference case against Mr. Trump in recent weeks, sources told the outlet that DOJ officials say it’s likely that no trial is possible in either the Jan. 6 case or the classified documents matter, both of which are ensnared in legal complications that would likely trigger an appeal to the Supreme Court.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
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