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Tags: special counsel | jack smith | donald trump | politically motivated | investigations | arctic frost

Special Counsel Jack Smith: Trump Persecution Was Not Political

By    |   Thursday, 16 October 2025 08:35 AM EDT

Former special counsel Jack Smith insisted the Biden administration's legal persecution of President Donald Trump was not politically motivated, calling such claims "absolutely ludicrous."

During a rare interview, Smith defended the independence and integrity of his investigations into the then-former president.

"The idea that politics played a role in who worked on that case, or who got chosen, is ludicrous," Smith told former federal prosecutor Andrew Weissmann last week at University College London.

Smith added that his team was composed of seasoned prosecutors from both Republican and Democrat administrations.

The former acting U.S. attorney in the Middle District of Tennessee oversaw two cases against Trump — one involving alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election and another over alleged mishandling of classified documents after leaving office.

Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges and maintained that the cases were part of a politically motivated "witch hunt."

Both prosecutions were dismissed following Trump's return to the presidency in January, in accordance with a Justice Department policy that prohibits indicting a sitting president.

As congressional Republicans push to compel Smith's testimony, the former special counsel continues to defend his record.

"The idea that politics would play a role in big cases like this," Smith said, "is absolutely ludicrous and totally contrary to my experience as a prosecutor."

Smith, who resigned earlier this year, criticized the current administration's Justice Department for what he described as politically influenced decision-making.

He pointed to the dismissal of a corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams and the prosecution of former FBI Director James Comey as examples of "lack of process."

"When you get rid of the people who know most about national security, that doesn't make the country safer," he warned, lamenting a wave of resignations among nonpartisan prosecutors.

The U.S. Office of Special Counsel, an independent watchdog responsible for enforcing laws against political activity by federal employees, has opened an investigation into Smith himself.

The probe follows a request by Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., who alleged Smith's prosecutions were politically motivated attempts to benefit the Biden administration before the 2024 election.

Smith's attorneys, Lanny Breuer and Peter Koski, dismissed the investigation as "wholly without merit," describing it as "based on an imaginary and unfounded premise."

The lawyers said Smith's actions "were consistent with a prosecutor who followed the facts and the law, without regard for political consequences."

Meanwhile, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, alleged that an FBI operation code-named "Arctic Frost," which evolved into Smith's elector case against Trump, targeted eight Republican senators and conservative groups including the late Charlie Kirk's Turning Point USA.

Grassley called the episode "worse than Watergate" and accused the FBI under the Biden administration of "weaponizing" its authority against Trump's allies.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Charlie McCarthy

Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.

© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.


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Former special counsel Jack Smith insisted the Biden administration's legal persecution of President Donald Trump was not politically motivated, calling such claims "absolutely ludicrous."
special counsel, jack smith, donald trump, politically motivated, investigations, arctic frost
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Thursday, 16 October 2025 08:35 AM
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