Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) revealed that former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team obtained thousands of checks from Americans who made donations to President Trump between September 2019 and August 2023.
The materials acquired by Smith were part of his “Arctic Probe” investigation against Trump. Redacted copies of the 4,782 personal checks were published by Grassley’s office, revealing that some donations were as little as $1. The checks contained the donors’ addresses, bank account and routing numbers, and signatures.
“No matter what you say, there’s no legitimate basis for what you did. Especially since your staff killed an investigation into the Clinton campaign. Donations to Republican groups wasn’t necessary to your investigation, which is proved out by the fact it wasn’t mentioned in your public report,” Grassley said during a hearing on the subject. “Now, the Justice Department and FBI will forever possess thousands of people’s addresses, phone numbers, banks, bank account numbers, bank routing numbers and copies of their true signatures. Every member on this committee ought to be outraged for what happened to their constituents.
Smith said in his opening statement before the Committee that he stands by his choice to “bring charges against President Trump.”
“I made those decisions without regard to President Trump’s political association, activities, beliefs, or candidacy in the 2024 presidential election,” he claimed. “Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in serious crimes against our nation. If asked whether to prosecute a former president today based on the same facts, I would do so regardless of whether that president was a Republican or a Democrat.”
Smith made similar comments in a closed-door deposition before the House Judiciary Committee. “We took our actions based on the facts and the law, the very lessons I learned early in my career as a prosecutor. We followed Justice Department policies and observed legal requirements,” he said at the time, adding, “If asked whether to prosecute a former President based on the same facts today, I would do so regardless of whether that President was a Republican or a Democrat.”
