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The Department of Justice is investigating allegations of attorney misconduct by special counsel Jack Smith's team during its investigations into President-elect Donald Trump.
A Dec. 4 letter from House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, to Jeffrey Ragsdale, head of the DOJ's Office of Professional Responsibility, revealed the office launched an inquiry in June 2023 after a prosecutor self-reported a complaint from a defense attorney working on the Florida classified documents case, The Hill reported Thursday.
Even though prosecutors are required to report complaints from defense attorneys, which likewise obligates a review from the OPR (Office of Professional Responsibility), Jordan wrote a review into "allegations of attorney misconduct by Smith's office" only starting after Smith said he was winding down his work as a special counsel.
Jordan wrote that during a briefing to the committee in November, Ragsdale stated that "per Department policy — despite self-reporting of misconduct by Smith's own team — your office did not conduct an 'inquiry' or 'investigation' into the allegations during the pendency of litigation in the cases brought by the Special Counsel's Office because it could 'interfer[e] with' and 'jeopardize' the prosecution."
"As you explained it, the Department's policy would keep bad-actor attorneys in place to continue prosecutorial misconduct because of the administrative difficulty and resource constraints involved in switching attorneys," Jordan wrote. "This excuse not only defies common sense, but it seems to violate the Department's mission to ensure that justice is done in every case."
"It is absurd that OPR — the Department entity charged with upholding ethical conduct — would only examine allegations of prosecutorial misconduct after the subject of the allegations has approved the inquiry. This process does not inspire any confidence that OPR's examination will be independent or impartial."
The DOJ responded to Jordan's letter Wednesday afternoon with a letter, obtained by The Washington Post, which explained the OPR's investigation process. The letter said Ragsdale, who was appointed by Attorney General William Barr in the first Trump administration to lead OPR, expects to complete the investigation in 2025.
The OPR does not typically launch internal investigations until the criminal investigations they stem from are complete, the Post reported.
"Such a practice ensures that the OPR process is not inappropriately used to disrupt an ongoing prosecution and avoids interference with the court's own supervision of the case," the DOJ wrote to Jordan. "The policy also allows OPR to consider the allegations as a whole, after the record is complete, and in the context of the full litigation."
Stanley Woodward, an attorney for Trump valet Walt Nauta, a codefendant in the classified documents case — which was tossed out by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon — accused Jay Bratt, a member of Smith's team, of bringing up his interest in a judicial nomination as a pressure tactic. Bratt called the allegation false, according to The Hill, and later said he was simply noting Woodward's involvement with a commission that oversees judicial nominations.
Jordan has launched a number of investigations into Smith's team and their contacts, including Bratt.
"While we appreciate you confirming an open investigation into Jack Smith's prosecutors, we are concerned that your refusal to take prompt investigative steps will allow these attorneys to evade internal accountability by leaving the Department," Jordan wrote.
A Dec. 4 letter from House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, to Jeffrey Ragsdale, head of the DOJ's Office of Professional Responsibility, revealed the office launched an inquiry in June 2023 after a prosecutor self-reported a complaint from a defense attorney working on the Florida classified documents case, The Hill reported Thursday.
Even though prosecutors are required to report complaints from defense attorneys, which likewise obligates a review from the OPR (Office of Professional Responsibility), Jordan wrote a review into "allegations of attorney misconduct by Smith's office" only starting after Smith said he was winding down his work as a special counsel.
Jordan wrote that during a briefing to the committee in November, Ragsdale stated that "per Department policy — despite self-reporting of misconduct by Smith's own team — your office did not conduct an 'inquiry' or 'investigation' into the allegations during the pendency of litigation in the cases brought by the Special Counsel's Office because it could 'interfer[e] with' and 'jeopardize' the prosecution."
"As you explained it, the Department's policy would keep bad-actor attorneys in place to continue prosecutorial misconduct because of the administrative difficulty and resource constraints involved in switching attorneys," Jordan wrote. "This excuse not only defies common sense, but it seems to violate the Department's mission to ensure that justice is done in every case."
"It is absurd that OPR — the Department entity charged with upholding ethical conduct — would only examine allegations of prosecutorial misconduct after the subject of the allegations has approved the inquiry. This process does not inspire any confidence that OPR's examination will be independent or impartial."
The DOJ responded to Jordan's letter Wednesday afternoon with a letter, obtained by The Washington Post, which explained the OPR's investigation process. The letter said Ragsdale, who was appointed by Attorney General William Barr in the first Trump administration to lead OPR, expects to complete the investigation in 2025.
The OPR does not typically launch internal investigations until the criminal investigations they stem from are complete, the Post reported.
"Such a practice ensures that the OPR process is not inappropriately used to disrupt an ongoing prosecution and avoids interference with the court's own supervision of the case," the DOJ wrote to Jordan. "The policy also allows OPR to consider the allegations as a whole, after the record is complete, and in the context of the full litigation."
Stanley Woodward, an attorney for Trump valet Walt Nauta, a codefendant in the classified documents case — which was tossed out by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon — accused Jay Bratt, a member of Smith's team, of bringing up his interest in a judicial nomination as a pressure tactic. Bratt called the allegation false, according to The Hill, and later said he was simply noting Woodward's involvement with a commission that oversees judicial nominations.
Jordan has launched a number of investigations into Smith's team and their contacts, including Bratt.
"While we appreciate you confirming an open investigation into Jack Smith's prosecutors, we are concerned that your refusal to take prompt investigative steps will allow these attorneys to evade internal accountability by leaving the Department," Jordan wrote.
