House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan is investigating whether evidence seized by the FBI in its raid on former President Trump's Mar-a-Lago home as part of special counsel Jack Smith's classified records case was "altered or manipulated." The revelation stems from Smith's admission that seized documents are no longer in their original order and sequence.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) has launched an investigation into the handling of evidence seized by the FBI during its raid on former President Trump's Mar-a-Lago home in August 2022, following the admission by special counsel Jack Smith that the documents are no longer in their original order and sequence. Jordan's concerns stem from a court filing submitted by Smith's office, which acknowledged inconsistencies between the current state of the documents and previous representations made to the court.
In a letter to the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) within the Department of Justice (DOJ), Jordan expressed "grave concerns" about the potential implications of the evidence mishandling. He questioned whether the prosecutors in Smith's office had misled the federal court and whether they had upheld the department's highest professional standards. Jordan demanded accountability for any attorneys found to have violated ethical guidelines.
Federal prosecutors had previously assured the court that the documents seized from Trump's residence were "in their original, intact form." However, the recent filing admitted that "there are some boxes where the order of items within that box is not the same as in the associated scans."
Jordan's investigation adds to the legal challenges facing Trump in the classified records case. He has been charged with 40 felony counts, including violating the Espionage Act, making false statements to investigators, and conspiracy to obstruct justice. The trial is scheduled to begin on May 20, although the date may change due to the ongoing investigations into the evidence handling.
The acknowledgment of evidence inconsistencies has fueled Trump's claims that the investigation is politically motivated. In a Truth Social post, he called for Smith's arrest and accused him of "blatant Evidence Tampering." Trump asserted that the "Deeply Illegal actions by the Politicized ‘Persecutors’ mandate that this whole Witch Hunt be DROPPED IMMEDIATELY."
Meanwhile, the presiding judge in the case, Aileen Cannon, has ordered the unsealing of FBI files related to the Mar-a-Lago raid, providing fresh insights into the investigation's timeline and details. The unredacted documents are expected to shed further light on the circumstances surrounding the seizure of the classified documents.
Jordan's investigation into the evidence mishandling is another chapter in the ongoing saga of the Trump classified records case. The outcome of his inquiry could have significant implications for the integrity of the prosecution and for Trump's defense strategy. The case is likely to continue to generate controversy and attention in the lead-up to the trial.
