The former special counsel is being investigated for possible violations of the Hatch Act, which restricts partisan activities by federal employees. A G.O.P. senator had requested an inquiry over Mr. Smith’s prosecution of Donald Trump.
Jack Smith at a news conference in 2023, announcing the indictment of Donald J. Trump. Mr. Trump’s allies have argued that Mr. Smith tried to influence the 2024 election.
A complaint concerning a top Justice Department official, Emil Bove III, went unnoticed for more than two months, raising worries that an internal watchdog has gone dormant.
As a top Justice Department official, Emil Bove III fired dozens of lawyers and agents without any stated cause, in seeming violation of civil service protections and longtime department practice.
Judges across the country have repeatedly called out Justice Department lawyers for violating their orders and even for destroying the bonds of trust that the government has traditionally been afforded in court.
The acting U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, Bill Essayli, left, and Vice President JD Vance during a news conference last month in Los Angeles.
At the Justice Department, Emil Bove III played an outsize role in the Trump administration’s aggressive effort to take control of the agency it argues has been “weaponized” against President Trump and other conservatives.
The senator’s treatment of whistle-blowers detailing allegations against Emil Bove, the Trump loyalist and appeals court pick, has had a chilling effect, critics say.
Senator Charles E. Grassley accused Democrats of trying “to weaponize my respect for whistle-blowers and the whole whistle-blowing process against me and, in return, against” Emil Bove.
The panel rebuked Representative Mike Kelly, Republican of Pennsylvania, for failing to prevent the appearance of self-dealing and then stonewalling its efforts to investigate.
Representative Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania was the subject of a four-year investigation into a stock trade found that he had violated the House’s official code of conduct.
President Trump and his allies stoked conspiracy theories around Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender, but then backtracked and declared an end to the investigation. Backlash ensued.
The attorney general of Texas, who is challenging Senator John Cornyn, could have secured favorable mortgage rates, and may have violated the law if he knowingly falsified loan documents.
Legal experts said the involvement of Todd Blanche, President Trump’s former lawyer who is now a top official at the Justice Department, was rife with potential pitfalls and complexities.
Republicans are seeking to undermine the Government Accountability Office as it investigates, and considers suing, over the Trump administration’s withholding federal funds.
White House officials including Russell T. Vought, its budget director, are targeting the Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan agency that helps Congress parcel out money more effectively.
The president has fired or demoted over 20 inspectors general since he took office. Employees say they are demoralized and reluctant to pursue investigations that could prompt political blowback.
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