US federal authorities have launched an investigation into former special counsel Jack Smith, who oversaw two federal criminal cases against President Donald Trump before stepping down from his position earlier this year.
The Office of the Special Counsel (OSC) has confirmed to the BBC that an investigation into Mr. Smith is currently ongoing, but they declined to provide more information.
Mr. Smith was appointed as special counsel in 2022 to look into allegations regarding Trump's improper handling of classified documents and his purported attempts to interfere in the 2020 election.
The OSC lacks the authority to file criminal charges against Mr. Smith; however, it can pursue disciplinary measures or refer its conclusions to the Department of Justice.
As an independent federal entity, the OSC's primary role is to investigate and address breaches of federal regulations by members of the US civil service.
It functions independently from special counsel offices within the Department of Justice – such as the one that was previously led by Mr. Smith – which, unlike the OSC, has the ability to bring federal criminal charges under the Department of Justice.
US media indicated on Saturday that the OSC is looking into Mr. Smith for purported breaches of the Hatch Act, which forbids political actions by government officials.
This follows a call from Tom Cotton, a Republican senator representing Arkansas, for the OSC to examine Mr. Smith for "unprecedented interference in the 2024 election."
Mr. Smith was appointed by former Attorney General Merrick Garland in November 2022 to manage federal inquiries related to Trump.
Both investigations he oversaw resulted in criminal charges being filed against the president, who has pleaded not guilty and attempted to portray the prosecutions as motivated by politics.
The investigations were later concluded after Trump's victory in the presidential election in November 2024, as regulations from the Justice Department prevent the prosecution of a sitting president.
In a post on X earlier this week, Cotton described the investigations and charges as "nothing more than a tool for the Biden and Harris campaigns."
"It is highly likely illegal campaign activity from a public office," Cotton stated.
The BBC has reached out to Mr. Smith's attorney for a statement regarding the OSC's inquiry.
The OSC's investigation follows Trump's firing of its former leader, Hampton Dellinger, in February after Dellinger supported the reinstatement of probationary federal employees who had been let go by the Trump administration.
A judge subsequently determined that Mr. Dellinger's dismissal was unlawful, but a federal Circuit Court ruled that the Trump administration was permitted to replace Mr. Dellinger while his legal dispute about the termination is adjudicated.
Mr. Dellinger dropped the legal action in March, expressing that he did not anticipate the Supreme Court ruling in his favor.
"Meanwhile, the damage to the agency and those who depend on it caused by a Special Counsel who lacks independence could be immediate, severe, and, I fear, irreparable," he cautioned in March.
Mr. Smith is not the first ex-government official to face scrutiny during the Trump administration.
In May, the Secret Service initiated an investigation into former FBI director James Comey after he shared and then removed a social media post featuring seashells that Republicans claimed incited violence against Trump. Comey, who served as FBI director from 2013 to 2017 under Barack Obama, has refuted the accusations.
Earlier this month, US media reported that both Mr. Comey and former CIA director John Brennan were also being investigated for allegedly providing false statements to Congress related to their inquiry into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Mr. Brennan later told NBC that he views the scrutiny against him as an "example of the ongoing politicization of the intelligence community" during Trump's tenure.
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