Smith was ordered to “preserve all existing and future records and materials related to the Office of Special Counsel’s investigations and prosecutions of President Trump.”
In the wake of Trump's victory on Tuesday, House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan and House Oversight Subcommittee Chair Barry Loudermilk sent a letter to special counsel Jack Smith Thursday demanding that he "preserve all existing and future records and materials related to the Office of Special Counsel’s investigations and prosecutions of President Trump."
"According to recent public reports, prosecutors in your office have been 'gaming out legal options' in the event that President Donald Trump won the election. 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. The Office of Special Counsel is not immune from transparency or above accountability for its actions," the letter stated.
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View on XThe letter lated added, "You should construe this preservation notice as an instruction to take all reasonable steps to prevent the destruction or alteration, whether intentionally or negligently, of all documents, communications, and other information, including electronic information and metadata, that are or may be responsive to this congressional inquiry. This instruction includes all electronic messages sent using official and personal accounts or devices, including records created using text messages, phone-based message applications, or encryption software."
The letter also included an extensive list of outstanding oversight requests spanning back to June 2023. "Jack Smith: Preserve your records," the House Judiciary GOP wrote on X.
This comes as the future of Smith's two cases against Trump, the J6 case and the Mar-a-Lago documents case, have an uncertain future. Smith on Thursday requested that Judge Tanya Chutkan vacate all upcoming deadlines in the J6 case following Trump's win. Smith has also been attempting to appeal Judge Aileen Cannon's decision to dismiss the Mar-a-Lago documents case.
The Department of Justice is reportedly looking at how to wind down the federal cases against Trump in light of longstanding policy against prosecuting a sitting president.
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