HOUSTON, United States

The federal government announced Saturday that it is investigating whether former Trump prosecutor Jack Smith was involved in alleged illegal political activity, according to multiple news outlets.

The US Office of Special Counsel said it was probing allegations that Smith violated the Hatch Act, which restricts government employees from political involvement, according to NBC News.

The investigation comes in the wake of Trump allies alleging that Smith went after Trump without legal standing to derail his 2024 presidential campaign.

Smith was appointed by former Attorney General Merrick Garland three days before Trump announced his reelection bid in November 2022. He was tasked with taking over two investigations into Trump's handling of classified documents and his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to Joe Biden.

Both cases resulted in criminal charges against Trump, who pleaded not guilty and denied any wrongdoing. But the cases were closed after Trump won reelection.

"Jack Smith’s legal actions were nothing more than a tool for the Biden and (former Vice President Kamala) Harris campaigns," Republican Sen. Tom Cotton posted on X earlier in the week. "This isn’t just unethical, it is very likely illegal campaign activity from a public office."

"Special Counsel Smith pushed for an out-of-the-ordinary, rushed trial for President Trump, with jury selection to begin just two weeks before the Iowa caucuses. No other case of this magnitude and complexity would come to trial this quickly," Cotton added.

Smith ultimately resigned after Trump won the 2024 election, but defended his actions in his final report on the investigation, which was published in January.

"The ultimate decision to bring charges against Mr. Trump was mine. It is a decision I stand behind fully," Smith wrote, adding that Garland nor anyone else at the Department of Justice (DOJ) pushed him to prosecute Trump.

"To all who know me well, the claim from Mr. Trump that my decisions as a prosecutor were influenced or directed by the Biden administration or other political actors is, in a word, laughable," Smith said.

He said he believed he would have scored a conviction against Trump if the legal battles had played out in court.

"The throughline of all of Mr. Trump’s criminal efforts was deceit-knowingly false claims of election fraud-and the evidence shows that Mr. Trump used these lies as a weapon to defeat a federal government function foundational to the United States’ democratic process," said Smith. "Until Mr. Trump obstructed it, this democratic process had operated in a peaceful and orderly manner for more than 130 years."

The Office of Special Counsel is an independent agency and can only research Smith’s actions and seek disciplinary actions. Investigators can then present findings to the Justice Department to pursue any possible criminal charges.