Jim Jordan, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, reportedly revealed on Thursday that his panel is now looking into claims of prosecutorial error in the case of papers brought by special counsel Jack Smith against the former president Donald Trump and two of his associates.
In a letter to Smith on Thursday, it is claimed that senior prosecutor Jay Bratt, who is working on the special counsel’s investigation, employed “abusive” methods.
“The Department’s mission is to ensure impartial justice by upholding the rule of law, requiring all Department employees — including Mr. Bratt — to maintain the highest standards of ethical conduct. Mr. Bratt’s attempt to bully Mr. Nauta in cooperating, first by extorting his attorney and then by alleging a conflict of interest that precludes his attorney from the case, seriously calls into question your team and your ability to remain impartial and uphold the Department’s mission.” Jordan wrote in the letter.
Jordan expressed particular worries about Bratt reportedly bringing up a judgeship application in an effort to illegally push a lawyer for co-defendant and acquaintance of Trump, Walter Nauta.
The chairman further mentioned that Bratt had later filed a motion claiming conflicts of interest involving Stanley Woodward, the same attorney.
The chairman requested a number of papers and records about Woodward, his legal representation of Nauta and other people, as well as his application to fill an open position on the District of Columbia’s Superior Court.
The deadline was set for September 21 at 5 p.m.
Jordan’s latest letter comes in response to a request made to the Biden administration last month for information regarding a meeting Bratt had with White House officials in the days before Trump was charged.
The chairman gave that topic a September 12 deadline.
Trump and Nauta are accused of conspiring to obstruct justice as well as planning to conceal secret information from federal officials.
Both of them have entered a not guilty plea, as has Carlos De Oliveira, a Mar-a-Lago resort property manager who was added as a co-defendant in a supplementary indictment.
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