Rep. Matt Gaetz (FL-01) sent a letter this week to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland demanding that the Department of Justice preserve and produce all records from the office of Special Counsel Jack Smith.
According to a release, Rep. Gaetz’s letter highlights the highly irregular and extreme targeting of President Donald J. Trump by Special Counsel Jack Smith and his office at the Department of Justice. It has been uncovered that one of Mr. Smith’s deputies, Karen Gilbert, paid thousands of dollars in donations to “Biden for President,” “Obama for America,” the “DNC Victory Fund,” and “Obama Victory Fund 2012.” The pattern of partisan influence in the office of Special Counsel Smith is not only of public interest but is highly critical to the ongoing oversight work of Congress.
Rep. Gaetz has requested these specific documents be provided to his office by July 7, 2023.
In the news: Rep. Gaetz Offers Predictions In Trump “Boxes Hoax”
Gaetz argued there was no reason why this “simple staff list” could be withheld from Congress or the public “on the basis of attenuated and entirely fantastic privacy concerns.”
Gaetz noted in the letter that one of Smith’s team, Karen Gilbert, resigned in 2009 after leading the narcotics section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Miami after alleged misconduct, something that led the Justice Department to issue an apology at the time.
The letter shows that the department also had to pay a $600,000 settlement.
Fox News noted that Gilbert quit after being accused of eavesdropping on recorded phone conversations between witnesses and the defense lawyer in a drug case and reported that Gilbert gave more than $2,000 to Biden’s campaign and former President Barack Obama.
Besides Gilbert’s misconduct, Trump’s campaign has pointed out that Smith, as the leader of the Justice Department’s public integrity unit, played an “instrumental” role in a prominent Obama administration scandal, as the IRS was accused of targeting conservative nonprofit groups.
In the news: Trump Speaks At Miami Café Following Arraignment, Says It’s “A Rigged Country”
Gaetz threatened to push Congress to defund Smith’s office if the list was not made available.
“While there are innumerable valid legislative purposes for this request, it should be obvious that doing due diligence in vetting an office that has apparently done no vetting of its own personnel, or worse, might affirmatively be seeking to staff with sanctioned lawyers and partisan hatchet-men (and women), is an entirely appropriate purpose and one small reason I am requesting this information,” Gaetz wrote.
In his letter, Gaetz also pointed out that 27 electronic devices used by the Democrats on former Special Counsel Robery Mueller’s team were “unlawfully wiped clean of records,” thus Garland should use extra caution in protecting records.
Android Users, Click To Download The Free Press App And Never Miss A Story. Follow Us On Facebook and Twitter. Signup for our free newsletter.
We can’t do this without your help; visit our GiveSendGo page and donate any dollar amount; every penny helps.