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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and the Department of Justice (DOJ). Paxton’s legal action seeks to secure a preservation order that would block any potential destruction of records from Jack Smith’s investigation into former President Donald Trump.
The lawsuit highlights a pattern of record destruction by past special counsels and raises concerns about accountability in a “weaponized” justice system under the Biden-Harris regime.
Paxton initiated the lawsuit following a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request he filed, seeking access to documents and communications related to Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation.
“Past Special Counsels, including—notoriously—Robert Mueller, destroyed records at the end of their investigations to avoid accountability. It is not clear why nobody was prosecuted for doing so. This request is part of my Office’s efforts to ensure that Americans are not cheated out of accountability or information again. This pattern of weaponizing the justice system for partisan retribution must end,” Ken Paxton said.
The letter reads in part:
“The State of Texas is requesting a waiver of all fees, and meets the criteria per Justice Department policy. This information request is in the public interest, as it will provide critical information for the public understanding of the Office of Special Counsel’s activities.
This request does not serve the commercial interest of the Attorney General’s office. This request is made in the State of Texas’s sovereign capacity. And this FOIA request seeks information that is important for the American people.
FOIA serves as “a means for citizens to know what their Government is up to.” And it provides “a structural necessity in a real democracy.” The Texas Attorney General’s Office frequently updates constituents on important, newsworthy information.
The Office issues press releases, and posts news on its website that is frequently reported on by the press. The information from this FOIA request will significantly contribute to the public’s understanding of the Special Counsel’s investigation, particularly when the subject of that investigation has been elected as the 47th President of the United States.”
Smith, appointed by Garland in November 2022, was tasked with investigating Trump just one day after Trump announced his 2024 presidential bid.
Jack Smith spent over $50 million of taxpayer money to hunt down Trump for non-crimes.
Since then, Smith’s investigation has led to a series of high-profile indictments against Trump.
The Special Counsel indicted Trump on 37 federal counts in Miami in June 2023 for lawfully storing presidential records at his Mar-a-Lago estate which was protected by Secret Service agents.
Trump was charged with 31 counts under the Espionage Act of willful retention of national defense information and 6 other process crimes stemming from his conversations with his lawyer.
In July 2023, Jack Smith hit Trump with 3 additional charges in the investigation into classified documents stored at Mar-a-Lago. The superseding indictment, filed in the Southern District of Florida, claims Trump was part of a scheme to delete security footage from Mar-a-Lago.
In September 2023 Trump was hit with 4 counts in Jack Smith’s January 6 case up in DC: Conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.
Jack Smith’s team of taxpayer-funded prosecutors were operating in secret. Smith’s team of lawyers was DOUBLE the size of Mueller’s (Weissmann’s) team.
In his Monday filing, Paxton specifically requested a preservation order to prevent any records from being deleted or destroyed by Smith’s team or the DOJ.
“I will not allow the corrupt weaponization of the United States government to be swept under the rug as Jack Smith and others who unjustly targeted President Trump attempt to avoid accountability,” said Attorney General Paxton.
“The American people deserve transparency, and those responsible for these unlawful witch hunts must not destroy the evidence of their own misdeeds.”
The filing explains: “Attorney General Paxton, however, fears that many releasable records—including those that he sought—will never see daylight. That is not because DOJ has any legal reason to withhold them. Rather, Attorney General Paxton has a well-founded belief as set forth herein that Defendants will simply destroy the records. That is how they and/or their predecessors have operated in the recent past. And Jack Smith’s team has conducted itself in multiple ways that suggest it cannot be blindly trusted to preserve, and eventually produce, all of its records.”
Read the lawsuit below:
The post Attorney General Ken Paxton Sues Biden-Harris DOJ to Block Destruction of Jack Smith’s Records Exposing Lawfare Against President Trump appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/11/attorney-general-ken-paxton-sues-biden-harris-doj/
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