One colleague refers to him as “the gold standard.” Another asserts “he will not care about politics” and has “prosecuted members of both parties.” All this may be true, but it is not the whole truth about the work history of Jack Smith. On Nov. 18, Attorney General Merrick Garland tapped Smith to conduct two wide-ranging investigations into former President Donald Trump. The narrative that America’s new special prosecutor is a non-partisan player appears to be making the rounds; however, government documents illustrate that his high-profile cases opposed conservatives and Republicans.
Smith spearheaded the prosecution of a former Virginia governor – once thought to have a bright future in the Republican Party. He also facilitated one of the biggest scandals against right-leaning organizations in recent history, specifically the IRS persecution of conservative nonprofits.
In both activities, Smith’s work was ultimately overturned.
What About Bob?
Smith was head of the Department of Justice’s Public Integrity Section in Washington, DC, which secured the conviction of former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and his wife Maureen. The couple was indicted for violating “honest services fraud and Hobbs Act extortion charges related to their acceptance of $175,000 in loans, gifts, and other benefits from Virginia businessman Jonnie Williams, while Governor McDonnell was in office,” according to a US Supreme Court document.
The popular Virginia governor was considered a rising star in the Republican Party. By most accounts, McDonnell was on the shortlist to become Mitt Romney’s pick for vice president in 2012. Soon thereafter, the Obama Department of Justice threw the book at McDonnell and his spouse on multiple counts of public corruption. It was a particularly vile case that zeroed in on McDonnell’s wife, and both were found guilty. But the GOP politician appealed the conviction, saying the government went too far in broadening the meaning of “official act.”
The US Supreme Court agreed and vacated the McDonnells’ convictions. In overturning the guilty verdict, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote:
“There is no doubt that this case is distasteful; it may be worse than that. But our concern is not with tawdry tales of Ferraris, Rolexes, and ball gowns. It is instead with the broader legal implications of the Government’s boundless interpretation of the federal bribery statute.”
The case was finally reversed in 2016, but by then Bob McDonnell’s reputation and political career were ground to dust.
Mr. Smith Goes to the IRS
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Government documents also demonstrate Jack Smith was instrumental in setting up a meeting between the Public Interest Section of the DOJ and Lois Lerner, director of the Exempt Organizations Unit of the IRS. The purpose of the discussion was “criminal enforcement of campaign-finance laws against politically active nonprofits.” Later this scandal would be uncovered by a Treasury Inspector General report showing that “inappropriate criteria were used to identify tax-exempt applications” for nonprofit status.
Specifically, the investigation found an unequal application of the law and uncovered evidence that showed the IRS secretly persecuted conservative nonprofits by delaying their requests for tax-exempt status “based upon their names or policy positions.” In other words, if the applicant was a conservative organization seeking nonprofit status, it was sent into the abyss of government red tape for no reason other than its political views.
Emails outlining Smith’s involvement in the IRS targeting of conservative groups illustrate his enthusiasm to prosecute such cases. One correspondence obtained by congressional investigators between Smith and his colleague, Raymond Hulser, read in part:
"Could we ever charge a conspiracy to violate laws of the USA for misuse of such non profits [sic]to get around existing campaign finance laws + limits? I know 501s are legal but if they are knowingly using them beyond what they are allowed to use them for (and we could prove that factually)."
It wasn’t until the Trump administration that a class-action lawsuit was settled between the government and the right-leaning outlets. (Liberty Nation’s parent, One Generation Away, was one of these organizations targeted by the IRS, and it received a settlement and apology from then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions.)
Jack, Be Quick
These two instances expose a clear undercurrent of partisanship during Smith’s tenure at the DOJ. In accepting the post of special counsel, Smith is quoted as vowing to carry out his new duties, looking into Trump, in an “evenhanded and urgent manner.” One can only hope this promise is true. If his past actions are any indication, Jack Smith has much to do to prove himself a non-partisan arbiter of any conservative – let alone President Donald Trump.
~
Hat tip to Jon Solomon of Just the News for publishing an article that detailed Smith’s previous work history, including documents cited in this story.
