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The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) is investigating former special counsel Jack Smith, the OSC has confirmed to Fox News.
Smith was tapped in 2022 by then-Attorney General Merrick Garland to serve as special counsel regarding two probes pertaining to then-former President Donald Trump.
While the specific scope of the investigation is not clear, the OSC may be looking at whether Smith potentially violated the Hatch Act, which bars government employees from partaking in political activities. It is not a criminal investigation.
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Special counsel Jack Smith speaks to members of the media at the Department of Justice building in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 1, 2023. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
The OSC is not the same as a special counsel appointed by an attorney general, as Smith was, but “is an independent federal investigative and prosecutorial agency,” according to its website.
“OSC’s statutory authority comes from four federal laws: the Civil Service Reform Act, the Whistleblower Protection Act, the Hatch Act, and the Uniformed Services Employment & Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA),” the website explains.
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President Donald Trump boards Air Force One on Friday at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., recently asked the OSC to look into whether Smith illegally engaged in political activity to influence the 2024 election against Trump.
“I write requesting the Office of Special Counsel to investigate whether Jack Smith, Special Counsel for Attorney General Merrick Garland, unlawfully took political actions to influence the 2024 election to harm then-candidate President Donald Trump,” Cotton wrote in a July 30 letter to Acting Special Counsel Jamieson Greer.
TOP GOP SENATOR DEMANDS PROBE INTO WHETHER JACK SMITH ‘UNLAWFULLY’ TRIED TO INFLUENCE 2024 ELECTION
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., attends a Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing, June 26, in Washington, D.C. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
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“President Trump of course vanquished Joe Biden, Jack Smith, every Democrat who weaponized the law against him, but President Trump’s astounding victory doesn’t excuse Smith of responsibility for his unlawful election interference. I therefore ask the Office of Special Counsel to investigate whether Jack Smith or any members of his team unlawfully acted for political purposes,” Cotton wrote.
Fox News’ David Spunt contributed to this report.
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