Former special counsel Jack Smith met with then-FBI Director Christopher Wray months after launching his investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots and the 2020 election.
According to Fox News, the disclosure comes from a document FBI Director Kash Patel recently shared with Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.). Both senators are reviewing the materials as part of their joint investigation into Smith’s “Arctic Frost” probe.
The meeting took place on May 24, 2023, a day before the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division issued a “significant case notification” regarding the case.
Such notifications are used internally to alert senior FBI leadership and field offices about investigations deemed highly sensitive or of public interest. The notification provided updates on the “Arctic Frost” probe, which the bureau considered a “sensitive investigative matter.”
“On 5/24/2023, Special Counsel Jack Smith met with FBI Director Wray,” the document reads.
Grassley called the revelation notable, pointing out that Smith previously refused to answer whether he had met with Wray, then-Attorney General Merrick Garland, then-Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, or then-FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate.
“Jack Smith claims he wants to tell his story to Congress, but when I asked him point-blank if he ever met with Garland, Monaco, or Wray as part of his investigation, he refused to answer,” Grassley told Fox News Digital.
“Either Smith has a bad memory, or he’s simply not willing to come clean about his actions,” Grassley added. “If he really wanted the American people to hear the truth, he’d be cooperating with my straightforward congressional oversight requests instead of making excuses. I’m going to continue investigating to ensure the public gets full transparency.”
Smith, in October, requested to testify in open hearings before the House and Senate Judiciary Committees. In a letter, his attorneys Lanny Breuer and Peter Koski wrote, “Given the many mischaracterizations of Mr. Smith’s investigation into President Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents and role in attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election, Mr. Smith respectfully requests the opportunity to testify in open hearings before the House and Senate Judiciary Committees.”
The meeting with Wray raises fresh questions about the communications between the special counsel and top federal officials during a highly scrutinized investigation.
