Oversight Project Releases DOJ Records on Jack Smith's Office Ahead of His Senate Testimony
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 28, 2026
Washington, D.C.–The Oversight Project, today, released 844 pages of Justice Department records concerning how former Special Counsel Jack Smith's office handled its records, devices and evidence-processing tools. The records were produced in longstanding Freedom of Information Act litigation against the Justice Department.
The documents raise new questions about whether Smith's office followed appropriate legal and ethical standards in its investigation of President Trump, and whether the public record of that investigation is complete.
Key findings
- When the office moved in files at the start of the investigation, DOJ's e-discovery staff warned the transfer "will change the metadata on those files (create and modify dates)." The office replied: "The team has no issue with the changes to metadata." Its Records Officer decided Teams chats were "not necessary to be moved."
- In July 2023 the office told Axon it was in "desperate need" of forensic video software. Its executive officer cited Smith's own "more strict requirements than DOJ's standard policies," noted "a lot less leeway in the audit," then authorized the purchase before funds were obligated because "the purchase is urgent."
- Axon's quote incorporates a program for sharing "de-identified segments of Agency Content with Axon to develop new products." DOJ released only an unsigned copy and withholds every price.
- An Assistant Special Counsel who had asked a help desk to "re-set my phone" later had that U.S. Attorney's Office phone returned in August 2023. A counselor's Criminal Division phone and iPad were turned in that December. The records do not show whether any device was preserved first.
- The office's software licenses were issued under the Antitrust Division and billed to DOJ's Justice Management Division, and staff email was forwarded through U.S. Attorney's Office accounts.
- The D.C. U.S. Attorney's Office reported an incident on two network drives affecting data from August 10 to 27, 2023. DOJ withheld the explanation.
The production is ongoing. We will release additional records as we get them.
Oversight Project Vice President of Litigation Jeff Clark gave this statement:
“Jack Smith’s team combed through the emails, texts and phone records of President Trump’s allies — even members of Congress. But when it came to its own records, his office waved off a warning that moving its files would change their dates, decided its Teams chats were ‘not necessary to be moved,’ and returned phones to other DOJ offices with nothing showing they were preserved. What it did treat as urgent was forensic video software, rushed past Smith’s own ‘more strict requirements.’ Those priorities are backwards and upside-down. Smith’s lawyers say he ‘steadfastly followed Justice Department policies.’ On Tuesday, the Senators should make him square that claim with his office's own paper trail,” said Jeff Clark, Vice President for Litigation at the Oversight Project.
You can find the documents here: https://docdepot.itsyourgov.org/search?q=%22FOIA-2025-00389%22
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