BURSTPresident Trump on Wednesday slammed former special counsel Jack Smith for previously launching an investigation into Turning Point USA, a nonprofit that was co-founded by the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk in 2012.
“Why was the wonderful Turning Point under INVESTIGATION by ‘Deranged’ Jack Smith and the Corrupt & Incompetent Biden Administration,” the president wrote in a Truth Social post.
“They tried to force Charlie, and many other people and movements, out of business," he continued. "They Weaponized the Justice Department against Sleepy Joe Biden’s Political Opponents, including ME!”
Trump has widely criticized Smith and the Biden administration after they launched an election interference probe of Republican-led organizations and donors who supported the president’s false claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged.
On Tuesday, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) released audio and records related to the investigation entitled “Artic Frost,” which examined 92 GOP groups and groups and linked individuals.
“Since the Trump administration took power, many FBI agents have been removed,” Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said during his opening remarks. “The removals included agents and prosecutors who became partisan weapons that lost their way, and I’ve made records public to prove it."
Smith resigned from his role earlier this year ahead of Trump's inauguration, but defended his investigation into the leader’s actions during the previous election cycle. Trump allies had accused the ex-special counsel of pursuing charges against the then-candidate in an effort to thwart his 2024 White House bid.
“The ultimate decision to bring charges against Mr. Trump was mine. It is a decision I stand behind fully,” Smith wrote in a January letter to former Attorney General Merrick Garland, clarifying that he nor anyone else at the Justice Department pushed him to prosecute Trump.
“To all who know me well, the claim from Mr. Trump that my decisions as a prosecutor were influenced or directed by the Biden administration or other political actors is, in a word, laughable," he wrote at the time.
He added later that Trump did not contest any of the factual information in the report but only objected to its public release.
Many of the legal cases against the president were dismissed following his 2024 election win and after the Supreme Court's broad decision on presidential immunity. Though, Smith argued that it did not completely exonerate Trump.
"The Department’s view that the Constitution prohibits Mr. Trump’s indictment and prosecution while he is in office is categorical and does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the Government’s proof, or the merits of the prosecution-all of which the Office stands fully behind," he wrote the letter.
Senate Republicans earlier this year launched a watchdog investigation into Smith over alleged Hatch Act violations, which his lawyers have denounced as "imaginary and unfounded."