Jack Smith, the former Biden-appointed special counsel who led two failed criminal investigations into President Donald Trump, is now under federal investigation himself. The Office of Special Counsel (OSC) has officially launched a probe into whether Smith violated federal law by using his position to interfere with the 2024 presidential election, The Post has learned.
The inquiry, led by OSC’s Hatch Act Unit, comes in response to a formal complaint from Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), who alleged that Smith’s prosecutorial actions during the 2024 cycle were “blatantly political” and amounted to illegal campaign interference. The Hatch Act prohibits government officials from using their authority to influence elections—a law many Republicans argue Smith repeatedly violated.
“I appreciate the Office of Special Counsel taking this seriously and launching an investigation into Jack Smith’s conduct,” Cotton said in a statement. “No one is above the law. Jack Smith’s actions were clearly driven to hurt President Trump’s election, and Smith should be held fully accountable.”
Smith, appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland, spearheaded two of the most high-profile DOJ cases in modern American history: one concerning Trump’s handling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, and another accusing the president of attempting to overturn the 2020 election on January 6. Both cases were ultimately dismissed under Trump’s Justice Department earlier this year after his return to the White House.
According to internal communications reviewed by The Post, Senior Counsel Charles Baldis confirmed that the OSC has begun its investigation into Smith’s conduct during his tenure. While the details remain confidential, the probe is the first formal legal scrutiny Smith has faced regarding allegations that his prosecutorial discretion may have crossed ethical and legal lines.
Cotton’s letter to the OSC outlined a series of actions he says prove Smith used his office for partisan purposes. Among them: accelerating legal proceedings to align with GOP primary dates, scheduling hearings near the Iowa caucuses, and holding press conferences designed to portray Trump as guilty while offering little legal substance to support the claims.
“Jack Smith’s legal actions were nothing more than a tool for the Biden and Harris campaigns,” Cotton said. “This isn’t just unethical, it is very likely illegal campaign activity from a public office.”
Smith stepped down from his DOJ post in January after Trump’s inauguration, but his legacy remains controversial. To critics on the Right, Smith became the face of a weaponized justice system under President Biden—an unelected bureaucrat who appeared to use the legal system to kneecap a political rival.
Sen. Cotton didn’t hold back in his letter: “These actions were not standard, necessary, or justified. They were the actions of a political actor masquerading as a public official.”
Smith has not publicly responded to the allegations and did not return a request for comment. During his tenure, he repeatedly insisted his investigations were independent and rooted in legal precedent.
But with the OSC now investigating—and more scrutiny expected from congressional Republicans—Smith’s past actions are unlikely to escape accountability. The very tool that Democrats hoped would sink Trump’s 2024 campaign may now come to symbolize the partisan rot conservatives have long warned about inside the federal justice system.
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