Questions regarding the impartiality and professional history of former special counsel Jack Smith have intensified following the release of new documents Tuesday. The records reveal that Smith sought nearly two years of phone logs belonging to FBI Director Kash Patel, a move that has reignited scrutiny over his investigative methods.
Speaking Tuesday on “The Ingraham Angle,” Hoover Institution Senior Fellow Victor Davis Hanson stated that Smith is facing a “rendezvous” with his own record. Hanson pointed to Smith’s history, specifically citing the 2014 federal corruption case against then-Republican Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell.
While Smith secured a conviction in that case, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously overturned it in 2016, finding that the legal definition of an “official act” had been applied too broadly.
Hanson argued that Smith’s reputation as a neutral arbiter is inconsistent with his history. “He had a poor record with the governor of Virginia, Bob McDonnell,” Hanson said. “He took legal services free from his firm, and he didn’t really report that as income. He surveilled congressmen and senators. He wasn’t unbiased.”
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The scrutiny comes as the Office of Special Counsel continues an ethics investigation launched in 2025. That probe is examining whether Smith violated the Hatch Act—which prohibits certain political activities by federal employees—during his prosecution of Donald Trump.
During a previous House Judiciary Committee hearing, Smith admitted to seeking secret subpoenas for data from lawmakers and acknowledged he did not rule out testimony from a witness with questioned credibility.
The scale of these investigations was further detailed in February when executives from Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The companies confirmed they complied with at least 84 subpoenas issued by Smith’s team during the “Arctic Frost” investigation. Records show that AT&T was the only carrier to challenge a request, specifically questioning if seeking the records of Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) violated constitutional protections.
Hanson suggested that the era of treating special counsels like Smith as untouchable figures is ending. “They were ideologues from the beginning,” Hanson told host Laura Ingraham. “And they warped the law for their own political purposes. It’s just a question now if he’ll have to atone for the things he did.”
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