Republicans in the House fired a warning shot to special counsel Jack Smith on Friday.
In a letter to the Justice Department, the House Judiciary Committee and Oversight subcommittee on House Administration, headed by Jim Jordan, requested Smith preserve all documents related to the investigation into Donald Trump.
“Preserve your records,” the group 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 letter says. “The Office of the Special Counsel is not immune from transparency or above accountability for its actions. We reiterate our requests, which are itemized in the attached appendix and incorporated herein and ask that you produce the entirety of the requested materials as soon as possible but no later than November 22, 2024.”
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The request was all “existing and future records” related to the prosecutions of Trump. They specifically cited “documents, communications, and other information, including electronic information and metadata, that are or may be responsive to this congressional inquiry.”
It also cites “all electronic messages sent using official and personal accounts or devises, including records created using text messages, phone-based message applications, or encryption software.”
Trump spent the 2024 election season promising that he would fire Smith in “two seconds” once taking office. Still, those close to Smith said that he doesn’t want to close up the office until “ordered to do so or being pushed out by Trump,” CNN reported last week.
“He’s not going to be the one to say, ‘I’m going to fold the tent,’” a former DOJ official familiar with Smith’s thinking told CNN.
Fox News reported this week that Smith does intend to leave before Trump takes office.
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