President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for former special counsel Jack Smith and others to be “investigated and put in prison,” the latest example of his increasing demands for the prosecution of those he perceives as political enemies.
"These thugs should all be investigated and put in prison," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. "A disgrace to humanity. Deranged Jack Smith is a criminal!!!"
The president linked to an article by the conservative digital news outlet Just the News about the FBI probe that was the precursor to Smith's investigation into Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Congressional Republicans have expressed outrage over the initial probe, known as the "Arctic Frost" investigation, which GOP senators said involved the FBI analyzing personal cellphone data of Republican lawmakers.
Lanny Breuer, an attorney for Smith, responded in a statement to NBC News saying: “As we informed congressional leaders last week, Jack is happy to discuss his work as Special Counsel and answer any questions at a public hearing just like every other Special Counsel investigating a president before him has done. We hope the House and Senate Judiciary Committees will agree so the American people can hear directly from him. Name the time and place. Jack will be there.”
The president's call for Smith to be punished is among his most explicit threats against the former special counsel, who oversaw two federal investigations into Trump — one on the president's efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the other on his handling of classified documents — that led to indictments against him. Trump denied wrongdoing in those cases.
In a Truth Social post last week, Trump attacked Smith and other Biden administration officials, including former FBI Director Christopher Wray, whom Trump initially appointed, former U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and his deputy, Lisa Monaco.
"These Radical Left Lunatics should be prosecuted for their illegal and highly unethical behavior!" Trump wrote, again referring to the FBI precursor probe, claiming they were involved in a conspiracy that "rigged" the 2020 election against him.
Trump has increasingly called in recent weeks for the punishment of people he views as his enemies. In September, he publicly pressured Attorney General Pam Bondi to take action against former FBI Director James Comey, Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
"We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!"
An administration official later said Trump posted the directive publicly by mistake, thinking he was sending Bondi a private message.
Within days and weeks, federal prosecutors indicted Comey, James and former Trump national security adviser John Bolton on various charges, to which they have pleaded not guilty. The administration is also investigating Schiff on allegations of mortgage fraud, which the senator has denied.
Before James was indicted, the then-U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Eric Siebert, resigned under pressure from Trump after that investigation, involving allegations of mortgage fraud, had stalled.
Prior to Comey's indictment, career prosecutors told Siebert's successor, Lindsey Halligan, that they didn't think there was enough evidence to bring charges against him related to testimony he gave to Congress.
The criminal investigation into Schiff, which also involves allegations of mortgage fraud, also has foundered, four people familiar with the probe told NBC News last week.
The Trump administration has also fired prosecutors and FBI agents who worked on cases related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. which led to the head of the FBI's New York field office being forced out in March.
Smith recently spoke out against the Trump administration's actions targeting public servants.
“I think it has a cost for our country that is incalculable, and I think that we — it’s hard to communicate to folks how much that is going to cost us,” Smith said in an interview at University College London Faculty of Laws.
Earlier this month, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, sent a letter to Smith demanding he testify before the panel about what Jordan claimed were "partisan" prosecutions of Trump.
Smith's lawyers said that the former special counsel wants to testify before both the House and Senate Judiciary Committees to publicly address Trump's and his allies' "many mischaracterizations" of those investigations, which were dropped after Trump was elected to his second term. They also asked the Justice Department for guidance on such testimony, according to letters obtained by NBC News.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, responded that his panel was gathering special counsel files that Smith wants access to for any testimony. In the meantime, Grassley sent preliminary questions to Smith, some of them asking whether he had contact with or took direction from White House or top Justice Department officials, including Garland, during the investigations.
