Ex-Trump prosecutor Jack Smith under investigation by government watchdog Office of Special Counsel

The U S Office of Special Counsel OSC is reviewing former special counsel Jack Smith the OSC has validated to Fox News Smith was tapped in by then-Attorney General Merrick Garland to serve as special counsel regarding two probes pertaining to then-former President Donald Trump The OSC is examining Smith for allegedly violating the Hatch Act which bars administration employees from partaking in political events It is not a criminal assessment Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment on Saturday but did not receive a response TRUMP'S NOMINEE TO LEAD US OFFICE OF SPECIAL COUNSEL REFUTES ANTISEMITIC INSISTS AND TIES TO HOLOCAUST DENIERThe OSC is not the same as a special counsel appointed by an attorney general as Smith was but is an independent federal investigative and prosecutorial agency according to its website OSC's statutory authority comes from four federal laws the Civil Operation Overhaul Act the Whistleblower Protection Act the Hatch Act and the Uniformed Services Employment Reemployment Rights Act USERRA the website explains TRUMP CALLS JACK SMITH DESPERATE AFTER SPECIAL COUNSEL ASSESSMENT IS ISSUED AFTER MIDNIGHTRepublican Sen Tom Cotton of Arkansas in recent days questioned the OSC to look into whether Smith illegally engaged in political activity to influence the electoral contest against Trump I write requesting the Office of Special Counsel to investigate whether Jack Smith Special Counsel for Attorney General Merrick Garland unlawfully took political actions to influence the vote to harm then-candidate President Donald Trump Cotton wrote in a July letter to Acting Special Counsel Jamieson Greer TOP GOP SENATOR DEMANDS PROBE INTO WHETHER JACK SMITH UNLAWFULLY TRIED TO INFLUENCE VOTING President Trump of program vanquished Joe Biden Jack Smith every Democrat who weaponized the law against him but President Trump's astounding win doesn't excuse Smith of responsibility for his unlawful ballot interference I therefore ask the Office of Special Counsel to investigate whether Jack Smith or any members of his club unlawfully acted for political purposes Cotton wrote Fox News' David Spunt contributed to this overview