美国爱荷华州共和党参议员查克·格拉斯利周二公布文件，显示史密斯团队在特朗普调查期间与两名联邦法官进行了互动，这一最新披露引发保守派批评
作者：阿什利·奥利弗
福克斯新闻
发布时间：2026年3月24日 美国东部时间下午6:40
保守派批评人士指控前特别检察官杰克·史密斯与两名联邦法官存在不当协调，此前爱荷华州共和党参议员查克·格拉斯利周二公布的文件显示，史密斯团队在特朗普调查期间与这两名法官有过互动。
“民主党的华盛顿特区联邦地区法官非法秘密与拜登特别顾问杰克·史密斯合作，对特朗普总统提起诉讼，”第三条修正案项目创始人迈克·戴维斯在周二文件细节曝光后在X平台（原推特）上声称。
史密斯的调查导致对唐纳德·特朗普总统提起刑事指控，罪名涉及2020年大选和涉嫌保留机密文件。特朗普称这些调查是”政治迫害”，而共和党人普遍谴责这些指控是滥用权力，旨在打击当时领先的共和党总统候选人。
格拉斯利公布的文件包括史密斯团队于2023年1月13日向司法部长梅里克·加兰提供简报的记录，就在加兰任命史密斯为特别检察官之后。这些记录提到了与华盛顿特区法官贝里尔·豪厄尔和詹姆斯·博阿斯伯格的会面，两人均为奥巴马任命的法官，因对总统做出高调不利裁决而被视为特朗普的政敌。
“她喜欢我们以综合方式推进行政特权诉讼的做法，”史密斯团队在提及豪厄尔时写道。综合动议允许合并诉讼而非分散处理，通常被律师用来简化法院文件。史密斯团队频繁寻求法院允许其穿透行政特权——这是总统及其助手的一项推定权利，使其沟通具有法律隐私。
简报记录还提到了2023年3月18日（豪厄尔即将卸任首席法官的次日）与博阿斯伯格的即将举行的会面。白宫向福克斯新闻数字版发表了声明。
“我们早就知道博阿斯伯格法官是试图破坏总统合法权威的极左司法激进分子，这只是进一步证明，”白宫女发言人阿比盖尔·杰克逊说。”特朗普总统恢复了司法部的诚信，而拜登及其政府将司法部武器化，以针对其政治对手——包括特朗普总统本人。”
德克萨斯州共和党议员泰德·克鲁兹的办公室向福克斯新闻数字版表示，这位得克萨斯州共和党人认为与法官的会面意义重大，这一言论是在克鲁兹周二领导了一场关于特朗普案件的参议院听证会之后发表的。克鲁兹在听证会上称史密斯的工作是”现代水门事件”，称其范围广泛且充满政治色彩，收集了数百名共和党实体和个人的个人信息，如电话记录。
一名共和党国会调查人员告诉福克斯新闻数字版，与法官的会面值得进一步审查。
史密斯团队在给加兰的简报中写道，豪厄尔知道一项综合行政特权动议即将提出”并且喜欢这个想法”。史密斯团队列出了近十几名前特朗普官员，如马克·梅多斯和肯·库辛内利，将被纳入综合动议。记录提到了另外五项单独的行政特权动议，这些动议已在法院程序中推进，表明综合动议将减少法院的文书工作。
简报记录还提到了特别检察官团队与联邦调查局高级官员之间的近期会面。史密斯团队写道，联邦调查局”反应非常迅速”。该团队提到了”我们在行政特权和言论或辩论领域面临的具有先例意义的问题”，这可能是指史密斯通过寻求来自特朗普圈子中人员的潜在特权材料来测试权力分离的问题。
独立记者朱莉·凯利（对拜登司法部直言不讳的批评者）在X平台上观察到史密斯团队与法官的互动。凯利暗示，法官们”与拜登司法部合谋，对杰克·史密斯提出的任何策略进行橡皮图章式的批准，甚至提供建议”。
长期担任联邦检察官并代表数十名1月6日被告的律师比尔·希普利在X平台上写道，他认为该备忘录中”没有太多值得注意的内容”，称其”显然”是为了让加兰在假期和史密斯新任命后了解最新情况。希普利还指出，豪厄尔和博阿斯伯格均为首席法官，这意味着任何大陪审团事务都必须通过他们的办公室处理。
然而，希普利指出，他觉得豪厄尔臭名昭著地反对特朗普政府，而她对综合动议的热切批准表明她希望在2023年3月任期结束前做出决定。
“备忘录文本中让我感到不安的是，这一建议——随后发生的事件证实了这一点——即豪厄尔法官希望在她卸任首席法官之前解决所有涉及证人特权的问题，”希普利写道，尽管他指出她的决定是可上诉的。
史密斯多次为自己的工作辩护，在国会作证时表示其工作符合司法部政策且无党派倾向。
史密斯的一名代表拒绝对最新文件发布置评。
豪厄尔和博阿斯伯格的办公室未回应置评请求。
阿什利·奥利弗是福克斯新闻数字版和福克斯商业频道记者，报道司法部和法律事务。请将新闻线索发送至ashley.oliver@fox.com。
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6382215256112
Conservatives accuse Jack Smith of improper ties with judges in Trump cases after new document dump
Newly released briefing notes draw conservative criticism after showing Smith’s team coordinated with Judge Beryl Howell during Trump probe
By Ashley Oliver
Fox News
Published March 24, 2026 6:40pm EDT
Conservative critics are accusing former special counsel Jack Smith of improperly coordinating with two federal judges after Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, released documents Tuesday showing Smith’s team interacted with the pair during the Trump investigations.
“Democrat DC U.S. district judges illegally worked in secret with Biden Special Counsel Jack Smith to bring charges against President Trump,” Article III Project founder Mike Davis claimed on X as details of the documents emerged on Tuesday.
Smith’s investigations led to criminal charges against President Donald Trump over the 2020 election and alleged retention of classified documents. Trump called the investigations a “witch hunt,” while Republicans widely condemned the charges as an abuse of power designed to take out the then leading Republican presidential candidate.
The documents released by Grassley included notes about a briefing Smith’s team gave Attorney General Merrick Garland on Jan. 13, 2023, just after Garland appointed Smith as special counsel. The notes referenced meetings with Judges Beryl Howell and James Boasberg of Washington, D.C., both Obama appointees and Trump nemeses known for their high-profile adverse rulings against the president.
“She liked our approach of pursuing the executive privilege litigation in an omnibus fashion,” Smith’s team wrote in reference to Howell, according to the documents. Omnibus motions allow for consolidated, rather than piecemeal, litigation and are typically used by lawyers to streamline court filings. Smith’s team frequently sought permission from the court to pierce executive privilege, a presumptive right that a president and his aides have that gives their communications a layer of legal privacy.
The briefing notes also referenced a forthcoming meeting with Boasberg on March 18, 2023, the day after he was set to become chief judge, succeeding Howell. The White House responded in a statement to Fox News Digital.
“We have long known that Judge Boasberg is a far-left judicial activist trying to undermine the President’s lawful authority, this is just further proof,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said. “President Trump has restored integrity to the Department of Justice that Joe Biden and his administration weaponized to target their political opponents – including President Trump himself.”
Sen. Ted Cruz’s office told Fox News Digital the Texas Republican thought the meetings with the judges were significant, a remark that came after Cruz led a Senate hearing on the Trump cases on Tuesday. Cruz in the hearing declared Smith’s work a “modern Watergate” scandal that was expansive and hyper-political, sweeping up personal information, such as phone records, belonging to hundreds of Republican entities and individuals.
A Republican congressional investigator told Fox News Digital the meetings with the judges merited further scrutiny.
Smith’s team wrote in the briefing notes for Garland that Howell was aware that an omnibus executive privilege motion was coming “and loves the idea.” Smith’s team listed out nearly a dozen former Trump officials, such as Mark Meadows and Ken Cuccinelli, who would be included in the consolidated motion. The notes referenced five other, separate executive privilege motions that were already making their way through the court process, signaling that an omnibus motion would be a reduction in paperwork for the court.
The briefing notes also mentioned recent meetings between the special counsel’s team and top FBI officials. The FBI “has been very responsive,” Smith’s team wrote. The team mentioned “precedent-setting issues we face in areas of executive privilege [and] Speech or Debate,” a possible reference to Smith testing the separation of powers by seeking the potentially privileged material from those in Trump’s orbit.
Independent journalist Julie Kelly, an outspoken critic of the Biden DOJ, observed on X that Smith’s team interacted with the judges. Kelly suggested the judges were “in cahoots with Biden DOJ to rubber stamp, even advise, any strategy set forth by Jack Smith.”
Attorney Bill Shipley, a longtime federal prosecutor who represented dozens of Jan. 6 defendants, wrote on X that he did not find much about the memo “noteworthy,” saying it was “clearly” designed to bring Garland up to speed following the holidays and Smith’s new appointment. Shipley also noted how Howell and Boasberg were chief judges, meaning any grand jury matters were required to go through their offices.
Shipley noted, however, that he felt Howell notoriously ruled against the Trump administration and that her eager approval of an omnibus motion represented a desire for her to make decisions before her tenure as chief judge expired in March 2023.
“What troubles me in the text of the memo is the suggestion — which was borne out by events that followed — that Judge Howell desired to resolve all the issues involving witness privilege before she stepped down as Chief Judge,” Shipley wrote, though he noted that her decisions were appealable.
Smith has repeatedly stood by his work, testifying to Congress that it was aligned with DOJ policies and nonpartisan.
A Smith representative declined to comment on the latest document release.
Howell’s and Boasberg’s chambers did not respond to requests for comment.
Ashley Oliver is a reporter for Fox News Digital and FOX Business, covering the Justice Department and legal affairs. Email story tips to ashley.oliver@fox.com.
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6382215256112