Politics
NEW: Jack Smith Caught Hiding Secret Meetings With Ex-FBI Director Wray
Former special counsel Jack Smith met with then-FBI Director Christopher Wray months after he launched his sprawling, open-ended investigation into the January 6 Capitol protests and President Donald Trump’s legal challenges to the 2020 presidential election results.
The revelation was made in a newly disclosed FBI document released by current director Kash Patel to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI). Both senators are currently combing through documents relating to Smith’s “Arctic Frost” probe, which targeted dozens of prominent conservative thought leaders, organizations and elected officials with seemingly unlimited scope.
The information was included as part of a “significant case notification” drafted by the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division on May 25, 2023, Fox News reported. “On 5/24/2023, Special Counsel Jack Smith met with FBI Director Wray,” the document reads.
The meeting took place just a day before the bureau’s Criminal Investigative Division crafted the “significant case notification” document.
Such documents are internal records used by the FBI to notify senior leadership and the heads of regional field offices about cases of high public interest. This notification provided an update on the Arctic Frost probe, which was classified as a “sensitive investigative matter” by the bureau.
“Jack Smith claims he wants to tell his story to Congress, but when I asked him point-blank if he ever met with Garland, Monaco, or Wray as part of his investigation, he refused to answer,” Grassley told Fox News.
The revelations represent a significant development, as Grassley specifically asked Smith last month whether he met with Wray, then-Attorney General Merrick Garland, then-Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco or then-FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate. Smith did reply to Grassley’s notice, though he failed to provide any details on meetings with Wray or any of the other aforementioned officials.
“Either Smith has a bad memory, or he’s simply not willing to come clean about his actions,” Grassley told Fox News, adding that if Smith “really wanted the American people to hear the truth, he’d be cooperating with my straightforward congressional oversight requests instead of making excuses.”
“I’m going to continue investigating to ensure the public gets full transparency,” the senior GOP lawmaker added.
Last month, Smith requested the ability to testify in open, public hearings before the House and Senate Judiciary Committees. “Given the many mischaracterizations of Mr. Smith’s investigation into President Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents and role in attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election, Mr. Smith respectfully requests the opportunity to testify in open hearings before the House and Senate Judiciary Committees,” Smith attorneys Lanny Breuer and Peter Koski wrote.
Documents previously released by congressional investigators revealed that Arctic Frost was personally approved by a number of senior Biden officials, including former Attorney General Merrick Garland and former FBI Director Christopher Wray.
The investigation – launched by anti-Trump FBI agent Timothy Thibault in a breach of FBI protocol – formed the basis of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s elector case against Trump, the committee explained in a press release back in March. Upon opening the investigation, Thibault vowed it would be “prioritized over all others in the Branch” and commented that “it frankly took too long for us to open this [investigation].”
Arctic Frost expanded well outside Washington and targeted prominent conservative organizations and personalities, including the late Charlie Kirk.
