House Judiciary Committee demands ex-special counsel Jack Smith explain ‘partisan and politically motivated’ Trump probes

WASHINGTON — House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan demanded former special counsel Jack Smith for testimony and documents Tuesday, hoping to shed light on the August 2022 raid on President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort and subsequent indictments against the commander in chief.

Jordan (R-Ohio) ripped into Smith’s “partisan and politically motivated prosecutions” of Trump and his co-defendants while noting that several of Smith’s deputies have relied on their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination when asked to explain themselves.

“Your team sought to silence President Trump by restricting his public statements about the case, conducted an unnecessary and abusive raid of his residence, attempted to improperly pressure defense counsel with the promise of political patronage, and manipulated key evidence in the investigation,” the Ohio Republican wrote in a scathing letter to Smith.

The subpoena comes on the heels of revelations that the FBI examined phone records of eight Republican senators under his watch.

Smith oversaw the Justice Department’s two prosecutions of Trump, one for hoarding national security documents and one for unlawfully attempting to remain in power following his 2020 election loss.