House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan has demanded Special Counsel Jack Smith to keep all his records as Donald Trump's electoral victory has led him to suspend his criminal investigations.
Jordan sent a letter to Smith noting that, according to different reports, Smith's team had been "'gaming out legal options'" in case Trump won. "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."
As a result, Jordan is asking Smith to "preserve all existing and future records and materials related to the Office of Special Counsel's investigations and prosecutions of President Trump," and requests he provide a series of documents before November 22.
Jack Smith should preserve all records.
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) November 8, 2024
w/@RepLoudermilk pic.twitter.com/OOMS8uKS9q
The call came just before Smith moved to cancel different deadlines in the case seeking to prosecute him for seeking to subvert the 2020 election.
Given the fact that Trump won the election and will be inaugurated on January 20, Smith said in a filing, "the government respectfully requests that the Court vacate the remaining deadlines in the pretrial schedule to afford the Government time to assess this unprecedented circumstance and determine the appropriate course going forward consistent with Department of Justice policy."
NEW: Jack Smith says it's over.
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) November 8, 2024
w/ @joshgerstein https://t.co/Ewzj9l3AAF pic.twitter.com/KTLQ2eEOwy
The move answers to a longstanding policy of not prosecuting a sitting president, according to two officials who spoke with NBC News. Moreover, officials are aware that they don't have time to prosecute the two cases brought against Trump.
Smith had taken significant steps seeking to move the case forward. However, Trump's defense managed to postpone key dates and the president-elect will now avoid the procedures during his time in office.
Now Smith and his team will have to decide how to unwind the charges and whether to write a report. Members of his team were reportedly preparing to face retribution if Trump was elected, holding staff briefings on potential harassment by Trump supporters.
Topics reportedly included doxing, in which a person's private information is posted online, as well as cybersecurity and stalking.
In January, Politico reported that the Justice Department spent more than $4.4 million over six months to protect Smith and his team from threats the special counsel has said were sparked by comments from Trump, who had called him "deranged" and a "sick puppy."
Some members of Smith's prosecution team have reportedly already left for different Justice Department positions. Many also anticipate Republican-led congressional investigations and internal Justice Department reviews, CNN said.
Trump pledged to immediately dismiss the special prosecutor if he were to take office again. "I would fire him within two seconds," the Republican nominee told conservative podcast host Hugh Hewitt on October 24. Smith reportedly has no plans to resign.
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