Below is my column on Fox.com on the new disclosures of secret orders targeting now FBI Director Kash Patel and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. It is only the latest example of the abuse of the investigatory powers by Special Counsel Jack Smith.
Here is the column:
Former Special Counsel Jack Smith has long operated under Oscar Wilde’s rule that “the only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it.” Over the last few months, the public has learned of a wide array of secret orders targeting members of Congress, Trump allies, and others. Now, the Administration has learned that FBI Director Kash Patel and White House Susie Wiles were also targeted by Smith in 2022 and 2023 when they were private citizens.
Smith was a controversial choice as Special Counsel because of his history of excessive legal arguments and tactics, including his unanimous loss before the Supreme Court in tossing out the conviction of former Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell.
His tendency to stretch the law to the breaking point also did not play well with juries in high-profile cases, as in his case against John Edwards, which ended in acquittal.
Despite such criticisms, Smith immediately returned to his past pattern of tossing aside any restraint or caution. Even Democrats this year expressed objections to his targeting of Republican members of Congress, including former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Smith told carriers not to tell members of Congress that their calls were being seized. Not only did such records reveal potentially confidential sources, ranging from journalists to whistleblowers, but Smith’s gag order prevented Congress from responding to check the abusive demand.
Now, the Administration is alleging that Smith and the prior Administration effectively buried the targeting of Patel and Wiles. It took a year into the new Administration for these orders to be uncovered.
The early accounts of the orders contained equally disturbed elements. Reuters reported that “in 2023, the FBI recorded a phone call between Wiles and her attorney, according to two FBI officials. Wiles’ attorney was aware that the call was being recorded, and consented to it, but Susie Wiles was not.”
It is astonishing to hear of a lawyer agreeing to the FBI recording of an attorney-client meeting as a general matter. However, to do so without informing your counsel would be a breathtaking invasion of such protected communications.
There is much we still do not know.
On its face, these orders appear consistent with the earlier abusive demands. Smith had virtually no basis for targeting Republican members and Trump allies. It was a fishing expedition in which Smith simply compiled lists of every well-known ally of President Trump.
There are also concerns over the response to this controversy. There are reports of 10 FBI employees being fired. Agents often carry out the orders of superiors in such investigations. The Administration should assure the public that these agents were afforded due process before being ousted due to their work on orders.
The recently disclosed files from these investigations are an indictment of Smith himself. He was given a historic mandate to investigate a former president. Rather than exercise a modicum of restraint to show the public that this was not a partisan effort, Smith yielded to his worst temptations in targeting a long list of Republicans.
In his prior testimony, Smith offered little to justify these orders beyond a shrug that such secret orders routinely occur. However, he was targeting a “who’s who” listing of top political opponents to President Biden and the Democrats.
To make matters worse, Smith struggled to release damaging information (and even schedule a trial) on the very eve of the 2024 presidential election. Every action that Smith took only magnified his agenda to influence the election. He became a prosecutor consumed by his antagonism toward Trump and his unchecked power.
Nothing was sacred for Smith. His demands in the investigation from the courts included a wholesale attack on free speech values.
Ultimately, these files are not only an indictment of Jack Smith but also of former Attorney General Merrick Garland, who failed to exercise his authority to oversee Smith and protect core constitutional values.
It is essential that Congress and the Administration fully investigate Smith’s surveillance demands. Smith has long demanded accountability for others while evading such accountability for his own actions.
If past orders are any indication, the Patel and Wiles orders were likely based on sweeping generalities and demands for absolute secrecy. That is the signature of Jack Smith. Indeed, Smith appears to have replicated his increasingly infamous record with the collapse of two high-profile cases and lingering questions over his judgment and actions.
He has again yielded to his temptations, and the public has paid the price.
Jonathan Turley is a law professor and the author of the New York Times bestselling “Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution.”
The FBI agents involved should have known these orders weren’t legal. They should have objected and then refused to follow them. ” I was just following orders ” didnt fly at Nuremburg and it shouldn’t have wings here.
Its laughable that eveyone here claims they would disobey a “direct order”. Fact, NO you would not. Say hello to unemployment and career suicide.
Oh silly me honor and a sense of right and wrong are dead in the 21st century. My bad I guess how I taught my students for 33 years and how I raised my son and am influencing my grandson was pure naivete. Wake up America : ” I will not lie, cheat or steal nor tolerate those who do.”
Hear hear! We have allowed Hollywood and our public schools to thoroughly corrupt the youth of our country.
@8
No, not Hollywood, Silicon Valley. Social media has waaaay more influence than Hollywood. And Silicon Valley basically has immunity.
I will not lie, cheat or steal nor tolerate those who do.” Who you quoting.
Lie, cheat or steal … wanna bet you’re everything you accuse others off?
It’s called strategic leaking for political purposes, the Democorrupts are masters of its use.
You’re saying there’s a government policy about that? Got a source?
John Adams…”Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” While this is just his statement, until the pernicious, atheist, humanist, progressive, amoral horde of democrats tried to steer this nation into nihilism and anarchy, most Americans did not need laws to understand what characters was needed to be a good American. We have been declining as a functioning society since the early 60s.
Yes, I think Jim Comey developed it in the Clinton, Obama and Biden Administrations then executed fully in the first Trump term.
Re: “The FBI agents involved…”
Well writ! “ I was only following orders!” forgives moral and ethical turpitude in the minds of those who help seek the head of John the Baptist.
@Anonymous
I’m sure they did and they didn’t care. This is what we are facing. ‘Law’ is just a word to the modern left. They will happily destroy those of us that still believe in fairness if they are ever in a position to create law again. This is what must sink in for people, because even those on ‘their side’ at the moment will eventually pay the price. They do not care who they hurt.
Remind me again, please, who are the fascists?
Republicans.
Isn’t it obvious ??????
Exactly….
Why isn’t Smith in prison?
Why aren’t you?
Somehow I do not see Joe Biden as Henry II and asking “will someone rid me of these meddlesome Trumpists”. I think his brain was too far gone. Smith has much to answer for but I am interested in who asked the original question and actually ordered this extra constitutional purge and witch hunt. Was it Obama? Was it Merrick Garland, who seemed to have checked his brain at the door every time he entered the DOJ building. Susan Rice? Valerie Jarret?
This all fits the acolytes who hovered around Obama more than the lightweights who managed Biden. Or is it Donors. Soros funds DA’s that let criminals out or never arrests them. Reid Hoffman allegedly funds lawsuits against former presidents. J.P. Morgan debanks former presidents or other meddlesome politicos. It happens in the UK also.
Who or what could it be?
All of the above.
Kill them all let and God sort it out was a bumper sticker back in the 70’s. That was back when the Commies weren’t embedded in our government. Interesting where we find ourselves now.
You forgot Eric Holder.
GEB,
Ahhh! But you are getting at the root of the question!! Well done! It has been noted that the Biden admin was full of Obama apparatchiks.
Excuse me, no asked a question. Certainly not GEB.
Seems you have an issue with reality. Its not a Shakespeare drama.. It’s called reality.
Come On Man! We are talkin about Jack “No Limits” Smith here right? This Bad Hombre ain’t never met a Rubicon he was not willing to cross AND BURN THE BRIDGE BEHIND HIM. Just look at the cases he had overturned because of his “Go Get’um at any cost” attitude. This dud will be back when we have President AOC as the Attorney General so we have big GOP Roundups and Raids. Brace for impact as only the soon to be Packed Supreme Court will be able to slow him up.
And yet that man exists, free to roam as he desires and no one can stop him. He’ll be back. And when he does …
Re:”C’mon man!” Moral and ethical turpitude do not hoist the likes of Andrew Weissman and Mark Elias by their own petards unless a criminal act has been charge, tried, and convicted. The detritus of their nefarious activities and others of that ilk haunts us to this very day.
To defend the actions of Jack Smith demonstrates the true magnitude of the problem. This horrific weaponization of government ran deep. Smith was the tool. The Biden administration and the Democrats, along with a complicit media, functioned as the operator of the tool. Merrick Garland? That icon of Justice? Members of the House and Senate? How about the media celebrities selling their biases and lies nightly to a gullible public? And, in fairness, add to that less than illustrious cast the TDS ridden RINOS in the Republican Party who loved the opportunity to damage anything Trump. Jack Smith revelations are shocking, but the true horrors of the disease remain untreated. Until We The People apply the appropriate treatment, the disease will fester and spread.
Who defended Smith’s action?
What amazes me is that there are people, X, I am looking at you, that will read this column and still defend what Smith is and the actions he took. For some small minded people partisanship overrules common sense, the Constitution, the law, right and wrong and even good and evil.
HullBobby,
In their pursuit of power, they will willingly embrace evil. We see it by their words and actions. Their calls for lawlessness. Their anti-Constitutional words and actions. I am not say Republicans are squeaky clean, but despite of all of their lawfare and lawless actions, like the secret investigations by Smith, they have turned up . . . nothing. They have no credibility. Why would or should anyone believe anything they say?
“anti-Constitutional words and …” What is “anti-Constitutional words and actions”? The more you write, the more obvious it is hat you don’t know what you’re writing.
“small minded people partisanship…” Describes you and simp exactly.
Our crusading DOJ, headed by Blondi, Agent double-oh-nought, can’t even write strongly-worded letters. What a bunch of pikers. Who believes Hillary never met Epstein? I’ll take perjury for $100, Alex.
The current administration: the incompetent being led by the incontinent.
That was the Biden admin. Everyone with two brain cells could see Biden was incompetent and mentally declined. It was so obvious the DNC gave him the boot and replaced him with Harris without even holding a primary.
The “two brain cells” requirement eliminates 90% of democrats.
Wiseoldlawyer,
Sorry Wise, I have to respectfully disagree. My sister is a registered Democrat and I have friends whom are Democrats or tend to vote that way. They may be educated, but they are definitely uninformed or misinformed as they get their news from WaPo, Yahoo, or Facebook.
Educated you say. You hate everyone with a college degree, because you do not have one. You said so a dozen times.
You could not be more wrong. Again.
My sister has a degree. My wife has a degree, and two masters degrees. My children have degrees. I most certainly do not hate them. There are many people here on the good professor’s blog whom have degrees whom I would gladly buy a cup of coffee or have lunch with them.
College education has become a farce. Academia has been over ran with woke leftists pushing a woke leftist agenda and mandating woke DEI requirements for graduation. I know as my daughter was forced to take a DEI class. The original idea behind higher education was to produce a well rounded, productive member of society. Now it is nothing more than a expensive leftist indoctrination camp. As I have stated before, many times, higher education needs to be streamlined to classes that only apply to a given major. Majoring in engineering, then only classes that directly relate to engineering. Medical field? Classes that directly relate to the medical field. There is no need for a DEI class in under water basket weaving or 17th century French literature. Get rid of all the useless general education requirements, lower the costs and the time. Produce productive members of society. Woke leftists are not.
Re: Upstate Farmer’s ‘You could not be more wrong…” My bachelor, master, and doctorate, career directed ,would be useless in terms of my becoming a citizen of the world without the arts, history, language components, which constituted their core. The mere fact that I’ve a sense of from whence we cometh has made all the difference. Absent the drivel which you decry, what is being turned out is narrow enough. My son, a tech multimillionaire in his own right now, has taken his Harvard diploma off the wall.
You’re in the exclusive club of ONE BRAIN CELL. Right?
and 100% of republicans.
and 100% of republicans. Just read the comments here. You people embarrass yourselves.
You’re being generous.
And yet you missed it for 4 years. Mentally declined, sounds like you.
USF
😝🤣 yeah, my butt is wiped!
Like President Trump said, these people are Crazy. They aren’t very bright either…
SOTU the Democrats looked like the stooge clowns they are. Played and slayed!
Eight ball,
Right?
The camera panned around to the Democrat side and they sat there, looking around for someone to give them direction if they should continue to sit or stand. It was the perfect example of how leaderless the Democrat party is and what their message is . . . nothing.
Thank you Prof. Turley! You were able to confirm what we all suspected. What is the punishment for such a treasonous crime?
Nothing will happen to Smith. Never does. On another note, Cankles claims to have never met Epstein!
All without a peep from the mainstream media. One can only imagine the pending impeachments, fueled by the media uproar, of Republicans if they attempted the same tactics.
We don’t have a free press and any endeavor by people to establish a counter to the Marxist narrative was met with derision, smears and censorship. I write this with firsthand knowledge.
Well said Elder. Well said. All of this illustrates just how far a corrupt administration can go with the 24/7 no-questions-asked assistance of the mainstream media. No wonder they despise Nick Shirley. Greg
Jack Smith is the poster child of the rot in Washington DC
Great column. Regardless of the outcomes for Jack Smith, we are reminded of many former features of a Democratic Government that will rise again from their ashes with election victories. A short list includes: reopened borders, re-DEI, FBI returns as the secret police, massive spending bills, the ubiquitous NGOs, rebirthing of massive fraud, a weakened military, ever declining schools, back to climate initiatives, attacks on free speech, and more. Not to forget washing machines that don’t work and certainly more Chinese spy balloons crisscrossing our country.
Are you writing fiction again?
Dad, time to come up from the basement and take the meds. You skipped them yesterday and look what is happening already.
Educated you say. You hate everyone with a college degree, because you do not have one. You said so a dozen times.
Dad, time to come up from the basement and take the meds. You skipped them yesterday and look what is happening already.
No, pretty much all facts. The Democrats are now openly saying what they will do. We better start believing them like packing the SC, amnesty for all illegals, EV mandates, mail-in ballots with no restrictions, transgender surgeries for minors, etc.
gdonaldallen,
Right?
The only thing Democrats have to run on is “We are not Trump!” and hate and rage. I have asked friends, what are they going to run on? “We will do everything opposite of what Trump did!!!” Which looks exactly like the list you provided. No sane or rational person would want that.
Re: “No sane, rational person”… There weren’t enough of that sort to elect Trump in 2020,
“There weren’t enough of that sort to elect Trump in 2020,”
Net of the vote fraud, or including it?
Smith will be the next Attorney General appointed by a Dem president. That was the deal they offered him. We will see Mr. Smith again . ..
Deal? Prove it.
Wow. Red meat for the DNC/Soros operatives. Have at it
Naaa… maggot infested liberal meat. No thanks.
Jack, the man. The exact type of person you never want to have a government job.
Exactly the man you would want to have in a government. Think.
In YOUR government, eh comrade?
Since you writing of this piece Professor, the attorney that is/was Sue Wiles has denied even knowing he and his client were targeted. If that is true, and the affidavit supporting the warrant contains such a claim as the attorney gave “permission”, that would be a violation of Law and perjury. It will be interesting to see if an indictment in Florida is forthcoming. Judge Cannon may be very interested.
You got a source for that?
An agent in the FBI should know an illegal order and know the alternative to following it. Any agent not familiar with the whistle blowing process is not very good at their job.
Try this:
Federal law protects federal employees from having to follow orders that violate the law, regulations, or rules. They may not know it, but they have the “right to disobey”.
if directed to do something that violates the Administrative Procedures Act, federal personnel statutes, published federal procurement rules and regulations, or an appropriation enacted by Congress and signed into law, federal personnel may legally refuse to obey and, under their oath of office, arguably must.
Civil servants who were fired, demoted, or reassigned because they have refused an order can appeal to the Office of Special Counsel and the Merit Systems Protection Board, which can and does give them their jobs and pay back.
Now, would you risk your career at the FBI by disobeying. Answer: NO you would not.
There is no reason for the FBI to be managed using military-style, top-down ranks and command. In an investigative body, you get the best result from teams built up from cooperating specializations. You want independent thinkers. Tactical command is only needed when sending out a tactical unit — to coordinate in realtime.
if various congressional members are urging members of the military to “disobey legal orders,” why would this not be the same for agents of the FBI to do exactly the same… I hope to see comments on this aspect of misbehavior as has been done for those in the military…
Senator Mark Kelly?… Any comment now that your career has been flushed down the toilet?
FBI is not a military department.
Doesn’t matter whether it’s military or not… An illegal order can be given in the FBI as well as the military, such as an order to take an action to violate a person‘s rights Or conduct an illegal search and seizure.
Lawful order: A lawful order is a command given by a superior that is legally valid and must be obeyed, provided it relates to military duties and does not violate constitutional rights or higher laws. It is presumed lawful unless proven otherwise by the person receiving the order. Source UCMJ.
Who was his handler?
Try English grammar.
Will he be held accountable? Disbarred? Charged ? Or did he get away with impunity?
No one.
If I had to round up the body of complaint so well stated on the blog against the past administration and the Democrat progressive wing(you decide if it is only a wing), it would be “Who dresses these people?” Equally important, what guiding principle, if there is only one, moves the DOJ away from a Jack Smith? Did AG Merrick Garland make Smith possible through lack of oversight? How well do DOJ oversight rules lift up Nuremburg values over KBG(now FSB) values? Mind you, the answer doesn’t care which party it governs. It has to cover both.
Why?. Republicans will do nothing on democrats March to fascism