The Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) has opened a review into whether special counsel Jack Smith’s team skirted any guidelines in carrying out their investigation into President-elect Trump.
The detail comes in a letter from House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) obtained by The Hill that indicates the office launched one inquiry in June 2023 after a prosecutor self-reported a complaint from a defense attorney working on the Florida classified documents case.
Jordan said a review into “allegations of attorney misconduct by Smith’s office” was ignited after Smith said he was winding down his work as a special counsel — a move that comes after numerous congressional letters requesting a review of Smith’s work.
Prosecutors are required to report complaints from defense attorneys, which likewise obligates a review from the OPR.
“A self-referral therefore is not an indication that misconduct necessarily took place, but merely brings to the attention of OPR allegations made by defense counsel. In this case, the Special Counsel’s Office properly followed this process and alerted OPR to misconduct alleged by defense counsel to the court,” wrote Jeffrey Ragsdale, the career Justice Department attorney tasked with heading the OPR.
While the extent of the OPR’s probe is unclear, the self-referral noted in the letter comes after Jay Bratt, a top prosecutor on the classified documents probe, previously noted complaints from an attorney representing one of Trump’s co-defendants.
Stanley Woodward, attorney for Trump valet Walt Nauta, accused Bratt of bringing up his interest in a judicial nomination as a pressure tactic. Bratt has called the allegation false and later said he was simply noting Woodward’s involvement with a commission that handles judicial nominations.
“Bratt mentioned this to Woodward early in their meeting purely as a matter of professional courtesy and only to indicate to Woodward that he understood that Woodward must have a good reputation. Nothing more was intended,” Smith’s team wrote in court filings last August.
Prosecutors also noted Woodward did not raise a complaint about the incident for another nine months, as he was informed his client was considered a target.
“The notion that a 30-year veteran federal prosecutor would engage in such a ham-handed tactic in this sensitive investigation in a meeting alongside three other prosecutors and in the context of his first interaction with a defense attorney is nonsensical,” they wrote.
Ragsdale noted that any broader review was ignited by the completion of Smith’s work.
“Such a practice ensures that the OPR process is not inappropriately used to disrupt an ongoing prosecution and avoids interference with the court’s own supervision of the case. The policy also allows OPR to consider the allegations as a whole, after the record is complete, and in the context of the full litigation,” he wrote, adding that his office “actively monitors” cases to ensure it is losing any information relevant to its investigations.
The Washington Post first reported the letters.
Jordan has launched a number of inquiries into Smith’s team and their contacts, as well as into Bratt directly.
“While we appreciate you confirming an open investigation into Jack Smith’s prosecutors, we are concerned that your refusal to take prompt investigative steps will allow these attorneys to evade internal accountability by leaving the Department,” Jordan wrote.
Ragsdale’s team is filled entirely with nonpartisan career staffers whose work will be uninterrupted by the transition.
Nonetheless, Trump has tapped officials to lead the Justice Department and FBI who have been critical of Smith’s investigations.
