House

Jim Jordan seeks memo on Smith appointment as Mar-a-Lago probe winds down

House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) is asking the Justice Department to break down the scope of special counsel Jack Smith’s probe into former President Trump amid signs he may be wrapping his investigation. 

The letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland — Jordan’s second in a week — seeks the memo that formalized Smith’s appointment and his investigatory role.

“Please provide the committee with an unredacted copy of the memorandum outlining the scope of Special Counsel Smith’s investigations pursuant to his appointment on November 18, 2022, and any other document describing, listing, or delineating the authority and jurisdiction of the special counsel as soon as possible,” Jordan writes.

The letter follows public reporting about a number of developments in the case, including a Monday meeting between Trump’s attorneys and federal prosecutors. Trump had publicly shared the request for the meeting.

NBC News also reported over the weekend that Smith reconvened a Florida grand jury assembled in the Mar-a-Lago case.

And CNN on Monday reported prosecutors were also examining whether the draining of a pool that flooded a Mar-a-Lago room that stored computer servers with surveillance footage data was done intentionally.

Garland largely spelled out the scope of Smith’s appointment in a press conference last November, noting Smith would oversee “the investigation into whether any person or entity unlawfully interfered with the transfer of power following the 2020 presidential election or with the certification of Electoral College vote held on or about January 6.”

“The special counsel will also conduct the investigation involving classified documents and other presidential records, as well as the possible obstruction of that investigation,” Garland said at the time.

Jordan last week asked Garland to break down the FBI personnel assigned to the case, including whether any were involved with prior investigations into Trump.

DOJ acknowledged receipt of the letter but declined to comment further.

Updated at 11:55 a.m.