OAN’s Abril Elfi
11:52 AM – Tuesday, April 30, 2024
Representative Elise Stefanik has called for the Department of Justice (DOJ) to conduct an ethics investigation into special counsel Jack Smith.
On Tuesday, Stefanik (R-N.Y.) sent a letter to the Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility, calling for them to review Smith’s handling of the election subversion case against former President Donald Trump.
“It’s obvious to any reasonable observer that Jack Smith is trying to interfere with the 2024 election and stop the American people from electing Donald Trump,” Stefanik asserted in a statement.
The representative also accused Smith of improperly seeking to expedite a trial and issuing court filings in the 2020 election subversion case.
Previously, Smith’s team pleaded with the Supreme Court in December of last year to consider Trump’s presidential immunity appeal quicker than the appeals courts. Smith argued at the time that the high court should make an instantaneous, conclusive ruling due to the “public interest in a prompt resolution of this case.”
However, after Smith’s bid was ultimately denied by the Supreme Court, the trial’s scheduled March 4th start date was postponed indefinitely.
“This extraordinary petition sought to bypass the normal appellate process,” Stefanik stressed. “The only way to reconcile Jack Smith’s filings is to recognize that his obvious goal was not to seek justice and the neutral application of the law, but rather to get President Trump — and get him before November.”
Stefanik brought attention to a clause in the DOJ handbook that states that the timing of any action by prosecutors “may never be chosen with the intent to influence any election, or to provide an advantage or disadvantage to any candidate or political party.”
She also repeated a complaint from Trump’s legal team regarding the filings made by Smith’s office in the 2020 election supervision case following the suspension of proceedings by U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan. This was due to an appeal over immunity.
“Jack Smith repeatedly flouted the District Court’s order. First, Jack Smith served nearly 4,000 pages of discovery on President Trump. Then, after the Supreme Court rejected his petition for certiorari before judgment, Jack Smith filed a motion in limine in District Court,” Stefanik explained.
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the matter last Thursday, but has yet to hand down a decision.
Stay informed! Receive breaking news blasts directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. https://www.oann.com/alerts