Former prosecutor Jack Smith, who led criminal probes on Trump, is reportedly under investigation by Office of Special Counsel

·Donald TrumpFormer secutor Jack Smith, who led criminal bes on Trump, is reportedly under investigation by Office of Special CounselBy AFPBy AFP Jack Smith at the Justice Department in 2023 after Trump was indicted on four felony counts for his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election.Alex Wong—Getty ImagesUS officials have opened an investigation into Jack Smith, the former special counsel who led two federal criminal cases against President Donald Trump, US media reported Saturday

The Office of Special Counsel told The New York Times it was investigating Smith for potentially violating the Hatch Act, which hibits federal workers from engaging in political activity while on the job

Republican Senator Tom Cotton had reportedly asked the agency to investigate whether Smith’s actions had been designed to influence the 2024 election

The agency, which monitors the conduct of federal employees, did not immediately respond to request for by AFP

Trump denied both charges and sought to frame them as politically motivated, accusing the Justice Department of being weaponized against him

Smith then resigned before Trump could fulfil his campaign pledge to fire him

The Office of Special Counsel operates separately from special counsel offices at the Department of Justice, such as the one headed by Smith

The secutorial decisions made by Smith do not typically fall under its remit, according to the Times

It cannot lay criminal charges against Smith but could refer its findings to the Department of Justice, which does have that power

The most severe penalty under the Hatch Act is termination of employment, which would not apply to Smith as he has already resigned

Since taking office in January, Trump has taken a number of punitive measures against his perceived enemies

He has stripped former officials of their security ances and tective details, targeted law firms involved in past cases against him and pulled federal funding from universities

Last month the FBI opened criminal investigations into its former director James Comey and ex-CIA chief John Brennan, two minent Trump critics

Days later Comey’s daughter Maurene — a federal secutor who handled the case of notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who has been repeatedly linked to Trump — was abruptly fired

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