WASHINGTON — House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, a top Trump ally, is calling on the Justice Department to provide lawmakers with internal documents laying out the scope of special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into the former president’s handling of classified documents found last year at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
In a letter first reported by NBC News, Jordan told Attorney General Merrick Garland that his committee was requesting “an unredacted copy of the memorandum outlining the scope of Mr. Smith’s probes regarding President Trump and any supporting documentation related to his appointment as special counsel.”
The letter from Jordan, one of Trump’s most ardent defenders on Capitol Hill, comes a day after attorneys for the former president met with Smith and others at Justice Department headquarters and the same week the grand jury investigating Trump’s handling of classified documents is expected to meet again.
Jordan, R-Ohio, said he is seeking the Justice Department documents by June 20.
The Justice Department acknowledged receipt of the letter but declined to comment further.
Congressional Republicans are ramping up pressure on the Justice Department over Smith’s probes into both the classified documents and allegations of Trump’s interference in the 2020 presidential election, which he still falsely claims was tainted by fraud.
The FBI in August searched Trump’s Florida home and found more than 11,000 government documents, including over “one hundred unique documents” with classification markings, according to a government court filing. Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in his handling of the documents, saying in all caps on his Truth Social site Monday that he “did nothing wrong.”
Republican lawmakers have also put pressure on officials outside the federal government who are investigating Trump.
Jordan previously subpoenaed Mark Pomerantz, a former prosecutor who once oversaw the Manhattan district attorney's office investigation into Trump. The subpoena was issued shortly after Trump was indicted on charges stemming from payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels and another woman near the end of the 2016 presidential campaign. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges, and Pomerantz provided testimony to members of Jordan’s committee after a court fight.
