Sep 7, 2023 - Politics & Policy

Jim Jordan to investigate Jack Smith's office over alleged abuses

Sareen Habeshian

Rep. Jim Jordan during a March event in Washington, D.C. Photo: Samuel Corum/Getty Images

House Judiciary Committee Chair Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) announced Thursday that he's launching an inquiry into special counsel Jack Smith's office over accusations of prosecutorial abuse.

Driving the news: Jordan said in a letter that he launched an inquiry into Jay Bratt, one of Smith's senior prosecutors and top aides, over allegations that Bratt improperly pressured Stanley Woodward, the lawyer for Trump aide Walt Nauta who was indicted by the special counsel.

The letter to Smith alleges Bratt "improperly pressured" Woodward "by implying that the Administration would look more favorably" on his candidacy for a judgeship if his client cooperated with the special counsel's office.
The Department of Justice declined to comment on the allegations.

Context: After being indicted alongside Trump in June, Nauta pleaded not guilty to charges related related to the investigation into the former president's handling of classified documents after he left the White House.

Nauta worked in the Trump White House and at Mar-a-Lago, where one of his jobs was to transport cardboard boxes with Trump's papers.

Of note: The letter comes the same day that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis accused Jordan of interfering with a state criminal case and attempting to punish her for political gain by opening an investigation into her just days after the indictment against Trump and the other defendants was returned.

Go deeper: Jim Jordan scrambles amid claims "weaponization" probe is a dud

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Jim Jordan to investigate Jack Smith's office over alleged abuses

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