Declassified records undercut what special counsel in anti-Trump case told Congress

Key Points:

• Former special counsel Jack Smith denied personally meeting or receiving consultation from former CIA director John Brennan during his tenure, but newly declassified White House documents reveal that members of Smith's team did meet with Brennan in November 2023 to discuss expert testimony for the classified-documents case against Donald Trump.
• The revelation has intensified Republican criticism of Smith's investigations into Trump, with accusations of political bias, investigative overreach, and misconduct, including claims that Smith acted as a partisan weapon against Trump.
• Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley called Smith's denial "evasive and misleading," emphasizing that the meeting between Brennan and Smith's prosecutors constituted consultation or counsel during Smith's special counsel tenure.
• Despite the meeting, Brennan was not CIA director during the period relevant to the classified-documents case, and there is no indication he had direct knowledge of Trump's alleged mishandling of documents.
• Smith has rejected allegations of political motivation in his investigations, asserting that his work was evidence-based, while GOP lawmakers continue to scrutinize his methods and the scope of his probes.