Jordan requests information about the meeting between the White House Counsel, Jack Smith’s aide, and an FBI agent prior to Trump’s indictment.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Demands Answers on Biden Administration’s Meeting with Special Counsel
House Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Jordan is demanding transparency from the Biden Administration regarding a meeting that took place between Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office and an FBI agent two months before Smith indicted former President Donald Trump in the classified documents case.
“This new information raises serious concerns regarding the potential for a coordinated effort between the Department and the White House to investigate and prosecute President Biden’s political opponents,” Jordan wrote in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients.
Smith indicted Trump on June 8 in the classified documents case, which he was appointed to oversee as special counsel. However, the details of the meeting between Smith’s aide, the White House counsel’s office, and the FBI remain undisclosed in the visitor logs. Trump has pleaded not guilty to 40 counts related to his handling of classified documents seized during an FBI raid of his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, on August 8, 2022.
According to White House visitor logs, Smith’s top aide, Jay Bratt, met with Caroline Seba, deputy chief of staff for the White House counsel’s office, on March 31. Danielle Ray, an FBI agent, also joined the meeting. The purpose of the meeting was described as a “case-related interview” by a spokesman for the special counsel, while the FBI declined to comment.
In addition to this meeting, Bratt reportedly had two other meetings with Biden officials related to “national security” in September 2021 and two months later. Jordan’s letter requests the disclosure of all relevant documents regarding Bratt’s meetings and any communication between the Executive Office of the President and the Department of Justice regarding the investigation and prosecution of Special Counsel Jack Smith.
Prior to the FBI raid on Trump’s Florida compound, Bratt allegedly visited and interacted with the former president. During a meeting, Bratt expressed his lack of trust in Trump and his lawyers, which led to him pushing for a warrant for the raid. The letter also accuses Bratt of improperly pressuring a lawyer representing a Trump employee to cooperate with the prosecution by suggesting that it would benefit the lawyer’s application for a D.C. judgeship.
Jordan’s letter raises concerns about the impartiality of Smith’s investigation and prosecution, citing these incidents as evidence. Smith has also indicted Trump on additional felony charges related to his alleged role in seeking to overturn the 2020 presidential election, specifically pointing to the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot as an “unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy.” Smith was appointed special counsel for both the classified documents case and the 2020 election case by Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Zach Jewell contributed to this report.
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