The chairs of the House Judiciary Committee and the House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight warned Department of Justice special counsel Jack Smith to not purge records, communications, and documents they have requested relating to the federal prosecutions of President-elect Donald Trump.
In a letter Friday to Smith, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, the Judiciary chair, and Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., the Subcommittee on Oversight chair, demanded Smith produce previously requested documents and records no later than Nov. 22.
They also warned Smith and his team "to preserve all existing and future records and materials related to the Office of Special Counsel's investigations and prosecutions of President Trump."
"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," they wrote. "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."
Jordan and Loudermilk will have authority to subpoena Smith for documents and seek his testimony in the next Congress that starts Jan. 3 if Republicans retain the House majority, which appears likely with more than a dozen races left to be decided. According to DecisionDesk HQ, the GOP as of 3:30 p.m. Friday had 216 seats and Democrats 204, with 218 needed for the majority.
Jordan and Loudermilk also cited "recent public reports [that] 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," they wrote. "The Office of Special Counsel is not immune from transparency or above accountability for its actions."
Smith indicted Trump in two criminal cases to which the president-elect pleaded not guilty: in Washington, D.C., on charges of trying to subvert the results of the 2020 election, and in Florida on charges relating to documents, some deemed classified, held by Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
The latter case was tossed out by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, but Smith is appealing her ruling that Attorney General Merrick Garland unlawfully appointed him because he is a private citizen and not subject to Senate confirmation.
The Department of Justice reportedly is looking into how to wind down the federal cases against Trump, who during the campaign pledged to fire Smith "within two seconds" of taking office.
A Department of Justice spokesperson declined to comment in an email to Newsmax.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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