Staff Reports
The Department of Justice recently tried to slip some information past the House Judiciary Committee regarding special counsel Jack Smith’s office. However, Chairman Jim Jordan isn’t buying this half-hearted effort to reassure the committee that everything is on the up-and-up. According to Jordan, the DOJ’s Office of Professional Responsibility is conducting an internal investigation and has essentially put on a master class in bureaucratic foot-dragging.
During a briefing, DOJ official Jeffrey Ragsdale revealed an inquiry into Smith’s office had been opened back in June 2023 but was seemingly put on ice. It seems Ragsdale thought it was wise to wait until Trump’s legal battles were over before making his moves. It raises eyebrows that this investigation has yet to gain any traction—one could argue that allowing Smith’s team to wriggle out of accountability while the heat of the spotlight fades feels less like justice and more like a classic case of bureaucratic negligence.
Jordan says DOJ’s Office of Professional Responsibility opened an investigation into Jack Smith’s office in 2023 after an attorney in Smith’s office reported potential misconduct, but DOJ only recently began investigating now that Smith’s role is ending.https://t.co/SPdKqXaGhx pic.twitter.com/OrwbLETGCL
— Jerry Dunleavy IV 🇺🇸 (@JerryDunleavy) December 5, 2024
Jordan expressed concerns about this sluggish approach. He boldly stated that merely confirming the existence of an investigation isn’t enough; allowing Smith’s crew to dodge accountability altogether doesn’t instill much confidence. After all, how is it that the same department responsible for upholding ethical conduct is dragging its feet on potential prosecutorial misconduct? The fact that misconduct is acknowledged only after it’s been self-reported by Smith’s team is absolutely ridiculous. It’s like giving the fox the keys to the henhouse before asking him if he’s been munching on any birds.
While the exact nature of this alleged misconduct remains a mystery worthy of an Agatha Christie novel, it’s standard practice for attorneys to report any whispers of wrongdoing—hence the “self-reporting.” The issue arises when one ponders just how proactive the DOJ truly is in monitoring its own. If they wait for the accused to come forward before starting their investigation, it casts doubt on the entire integrity of the process.
In a world where Smith’s subordinates, like Jay Bratt and J.P. Cooney, are already facing their share of scrutiny, surely it’s time for some digging. Bratt allegedly tried to leverage a legal meeting to press an attorney into compliance regarding Trump’s case while making promises of future judgeships—a move that some might call a touch unethical. As for Cooney, his past actions during the prosecution of Roger Stone have sparked serious questions about his judgment. If the DOJ inspector general critiqued his sentencing recommendation as “not well considered,” then perhaps the agency should consider a more rigorous approach before more skeletons tumble out of Smith’s closet.
Jordan isn’t hiding behind a curtain either; he’s formalizing his demands for records and making it clear that he intends to continue pushing for transparency—even if it means strolling into the next Congress with a file full of requests. As the message from Jordan’s office indicates, this investigation is just getting started, and the American people deserve nothing less than the truth about whether justice is actually being served in a fair and unbiased manner. The DOJ may have confirmed receipt of the letter, but they’re light years away from living up to their responsibilities.
