American federal officials say they have investigated former Special Advocate Jack Smith, who led two federal criminal cases against President Donald Trump before resigning from his post earlier this year.
The office of the Special Counsel (OSC) confirmed the BBC that an inquiry of Mr. Smith was underway, but refused to add further details.
Mr. Smith was appointed as a special lawyer in 2022 to investigate Trump’s classified documents allegedly investigating and investigate his alleged attempt to intervene in the 2020 election.
The OSC does not have the right to make criminal allegations against Mr. Smith, but it can initiate disciplinary action or refer to its findings to the Department of Justice.
The US media said on Saturday that the OSC is investigating Mr. Smith for the alleged violation of the Hatch Act, a law that banned political activities by government officials.
It comes after Tom Cotton, a Republican Senator in Arkansas, called the OSC to investigate Mr. Smith for “unprecedented intervention in 2024 elections”.
Mr. Smith was tapped by former Attorney General Merick Garland in November 2022 to oversee the federal inquiry at Trump.
Both of the cases he investigated made criminal allegations against the President, who requested not to be guilty and demanded to cast the prosecutors as politically motivated.
The matters were later closed after Trump’s presidential election in November 2024, as the rules of the Department of Justice refused the prosecution of a sitting president.
