Top Republican demands to know extent of FBI involvement in Trump special counsel’s investigation — after agency’s ‘bias and reckless disregard for truth’ exposed in Durham report
- Deputy Jim Jordan cited FBI’s ‘reckless disregard’ of truth and Durham investigation
- He demands AG Garland provide information about agents working on the Smith investigation
- Smith investigates January 6 and deletion of classified documents
House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan is demanding information from Special Counsel Jack Smith about his investigation into former President Donald Trump amid reports his investigation is nearing completion.
Jordan cited Special Counsel John Durham’s completed report identifying the FBI’s failures during the “Hurricane crossfire” probe to justify his pressure on behalf of the former president.
“The extent of the FBI’s bias and reckless disregard for the truth, which Special Counsel Durham has laid out in minute detail, is nothing short of outrageous,” Jordan wrote to Attorney General Merrick Garland, who appointed Smith.
Jordan is a Trump loyalist who chairs a House subcommittee on government “armaments.” Trump praised the Ohio Republican at a town hall Thursday night on Sean Hannity’s program, saying he was doing “an amazing job.”
Chairman of the House Judiciary Rep. Jim Jordan wrote to AG Merrick Garland demanding information on how many FBI agents helped special counsel Jack Smith investigate President Trump
The pressure comes after Trump told the Fox News host he was doing “nothing wrong” in the classified documents matter, after prosecutors were found to have obtained audio in which Trump effectively admitted he knew he had kept classified material.
Nevertheless, reports of people, including Trump attorneys testifying before a federal grand jury, could indicate that Smith’s investigation is nearing completion and the former president may be indicted.
Jordan requires Garland to provide specific information about the FBI’s involvement in Smith’s investigation of Trump, which focused on both January 6 and the removal of classified documents from the White House to Mar-a-Lago.
He asked the AG to “provide information regarding Special Counsel Jack Smith’s use of FBI personnel,” including the “total number of FBI employees assigned to the investigation.”
He also wants to know the number of FBI agents working on the investigation from FBI headquarters in Washington and the number from the Washington Field Office.
Former President Donald Trump, who complimented Jordan on Thursday, said he did ‘nothing wrong’ in the classified documents
Jordan cited Special Counsel John Durham’s investigation, saying it revealed the FBI’s “bias and reckless disregard for the truth”
Jordan is demanding the information from the Attorney General as Trump may be indicted
The Republican wants to know what kind of FBI resources Special Counsel Jack Smith has used and whether any FBI officials have worked on previous Trump investigations.
He also asks the AG to explain “whether FBI employees who worked on Special Counsel Smith’s investigation have previously worked on other cases related to President Trump” and whether the investigation “relies on information or material that collected exclusively by the FBI prior to the Special Prosecutor’s investigation. appointment.’
Durham’s own 300-page report reflected a multi-year investigation that included 480 interviews, reviewed more than 1 million documents comprising 6 million pages, filed 190 subpoenas and executed seven search warrants, according to the report.
Garland appointed Smith in November 2022, saying it was “in the public interest” to have someone outside his day-to-day supervision conduct the investigation once Trump announced his candidacy for president.
In an indication that Smith’s investigation is nearing its end, Trump Garland’s lawyers wrote late last week seeking a meeting about “the ongoing injustice being committed by your special counsel and his prosecutors.”