House Judiciary Investigating Special Counsel Jack Smith
House Judiciary Committee Launches Inquiry into Special Counsel’s Aide
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) has taken action by sending a letter to special counsel Jack Smith after initiating an inquiry into one of Mr. Smith’s top aides.
Mr. Smith was appointed special counsel last November to handle matters related to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach events. Since then, the Department of Justice has brought cases against over 1,000 individuals who were present at the Capitol that day. Additionally, Mr. Smith is currently prosecuting two criminal cases against former President Donald Trump, who is actively campaigning for a 2024 presidential run.
The probe comes after the former lawyer of a witness in one of the Trump cases revealed in a new filing that he was threatened with prosecution by Mr. Smith’s office.
Stanley Woodward, the former lawyer representing an unnamed “Employee 4” in the Mar-a-Lago case involving President Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents, has made shocking revelations. The employee initially testified to having no knowledge of deleting security footage but later changed their statement. Mr. Woodward claims that the employee was threatened with prosecution before agreeing to become a key witness.
While Mr. Woodward no longer represents the employee, he still represents Walt Nauta, a co-defendant in the case.
Mr. Jordan, in his letter (pdf), states that his office has information suggesting that Jay Bratt, one of Mr. Smith’s senior prosecutors, “allegedly improperly pressured Stanley Woodward … by implying that the Administration would look more favorably on Mr. Woodward’s candidacy for a judgeship if Mr. Woodward’s client cooperated with the Office of the Special Counsel.”
This inquiry is part of the Judiciary Committee’s ongoing oversight of the Department of Justice, according to Mr. Jordan. He expresses serious concerns about the abusive tactics of the Office of the Special Counsel and questions the Department’s commitment to upholding the rule of law and ensuring impartial justice.
Mr. Jordan has requested all documents and communications related to Mr. Woodward or Mr. Nauta’s legal representation to be submitted by the end of the business day on Sept. 21.
Mr. Smith’s office has not yet provided a comment on the matter.
Alleged Threats
The alleged incident occurred in November 2022 when Mr. Woodward was summoned for a meeting with Mr. Bratt. Mr. Woodward claims prosecutorial misconduct, stating that Mr. Bratt pressured him to convince his client, Mr. Nauta, to cooperate by suggesting that it could positively impact Mr. Woodward’s judgeship application in Washington, D.C.
In August, Mr. Bratt filed a motion arguing a conflict of interest due to Mr. Woodward representing both Mr. Nauta and potential witnesses for the prosecution. A
Conflict of Interest Hearing
was subsequently requested by the special counsel’s office regarding legal representation for Carlos de Oliveira, the third defendant in the classified documents case.
The prosecution claims that John Irving, who represents Mr. de Oliveira, is also representing three potential witnesses in the case. Both Mr. Irving and Mr. Woodward have requested that the hearing be sealed, arguing that sensitive evidence and witness testimonies should not be made public.
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