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House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan is investigating whether grounds seized by the FBI successful its raid connected erstwhile President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago location arsenic portion of peculiar counsel Jack Smith's classified records lawsuit was "altered oregon manipulated."
Jordan, R-Ohio, sent a missive to the Office of Professional Responsibility this week aft Smith admitted that seized documents are nary longer successful their archetypal order and sequence.
NEW REVELATIONS IN FLORIDA DOCUMENTS TRIAL PUT TRUMP ON OFFENSE AGAINST 'DERANGED' SPECIAL COUNSEL
Smith and national prosecutors admitted successful a tribunal filing connected Friday that "there are immoderate boxes wherever the bid of items wrong that container is not the aforesaid arsenic successful the associated scans." The prosecutors had antecedently told the tribunal that the documents were "in their original, intact signifier arsenic seized."
U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan holds a property league astatine the U.S. Capitol. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
"The Government acknowledges that this is inconsistent with what Government counsel antecedently understood and represented to the Court," a footnote successful the filing reads.
Jordan, successful his letter, said the acknowledgment "presents sedate concerns" astir the Justice Department’s "commitment to impartial justice, whether the Special Counsel’s Office misled a national court, whether the Special Counsel’s Office strenuously upheld the ‘highest nonrecreational standards’ of the Department of Justice."
Jordan is present asking the DOJ’s Office of Professional Responsibility to "hold accountable" attorneys who whitethorn person violated the standards.
Jordan is demanding that the bureau nutrient each documents and records referring oregon relating to immoderate allegation of ethical impropriety regarding Smith, apical authoritative Jay Bratt oregon immoderate different lawyer assigned to the peculiar counsel’s office.
Former President Trump, left, and peculiar counsel Jack Smith. (Getty Images)
Jordan is besides requesting each documents and records related to the "manipulation" of documents seized from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence successful August 2022, among others, by May 20.
Jordan's probe comes aft Trump’s co-defendants successful the lawsuit asked for a hold arsenic lawyers were having occupation figuring retired the root of immoderate of the documents successful the grounds boxes.
The FBI agents seized 33 boxes of documents successful August 2022 from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property successful Florida, spurring different ineligible conflict that Trump has called a "scam." The probe is overseen by peculiar authoritative Smith, who Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed to the job, and has charged Trump with 40 felony counts, including allegedly violating the Espionage Act, making mendacious statements to investigators and conspiracy to obstruct justice.
Former President Trump's Mar-a-Lago edifice successful Palm Beach, Florida. (Charles Trainor Jr./Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Trump has pleaded not blameworthy to the charges and slammed the lawsuit arsenic an "Election Inference Scam" promoted by the Biden medication and "Deranged Jack Smith."
The lawsuit is slated to caput to proceedings connected May 20, though the day whitethorn change, with presiding Judge Aileen Cannon underacting a trove of documents successful the lead-up to the proceedings that person provided notable updates to the case.
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Meanwhile, aft Smith's acknowledgment of the inconsistencies, erstwhile President Trump called for his arrest.
"Now, Deranged Jack has admitted successful a filing successful beforehand of Judge Cannon to what I person been saying happened since the Illegal RAID connected my home, Mar-a-Lago, successful Palm Beach, Florida – That helium and his squad committed blatant Evidence Tampering by mishandling the precise Boxes they utilized arsenic a pretext to bring this Fake Case," Trump posted to Truth Social connected Friday. "These profoundly Illegal actions by the Politicized ‘Persecutors’ mandate that this full Witch Hunt beryllium DROPPED IMMEDIATELY. END THE ‘BOXES HOAXES.’ MAGA2024!"
Trump added: "ARREST DERANGED JACK SMITH. HE IS A CRIMINAL!"
Fox News Digital's Emma Colton contributed to this report.
Brooke Singman is simply a governmental analogous and newsman for Fox News Digital, Fox News Channel and FOX Business.
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