House Judiciary opens investigation into FBI handling of Mar-a-Lago probe

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan opened an investigation on Monday night into special counsel Jack Smith's handling of former President Donald Trump's classified documents case after an admission that some of the evidence was altered or manipulated.

Smith’s team said the order of documents in some of the boxes of memos that were seized by the FBI from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate was altered or jumbled in a court filing Friday, Just the News reported.  But the mix-up had not been acknowledged prior to the filing, both of which could be major problems for the prosecutor.

"This acknowledgement presents grave concerns about the Department's commitment to impartial judgment, whether the Special Counsel's office misled a federal court, [and] whether the Special Counsel's Office strenously upheld the 'highest professional standards' of the Department of Justice," Jordan said in a letter to Justice Department's counsel on the office of professional responsibility. 

Jordan asked for a briefing on what actions are being taken to investigate Smith and his team, and requesting all documents and communications related to the manipulation of evidence in the Mar-a-Lago case, documents and communications related to allegations of ethical "impropriety" of Smith or his team, and documents and communications related to Jay Bratt's interactions with the defense team. 

The House has given the DOJ a deadline of end of day May 20, 2024, to comply.

Smith's team admitted that it misled the court in a footnote, by previously declaring that the evidence had remained in the exact state it had been seized. 

The FBI seized 33 boxes from Mar-a-Lago in August of 2022, and Trump has been indicted on 40 felony charges that include allegedly violating the Espionage Act, making false statements to investigators, and conspiracy to obstruct justice. The case is just one of four criminal cases related to the former president since he left office.