The US workplace of particular counsel, an unbiased federal company, confirmed to NBC Information that it’s investigating former Division of Justice prosecutor Jack Smith for attainable violations of the Hatch Act.
Smith led investigations into Donald Trump’s half within the 6 January US Capitol riot and alleged mishandling of labeled paperwork.
It comes as senior Republican lawmakers condemn the choice of their occasion chief, Trump, to fireside the main US labor market statistician after a report that confirmed the nationwide financial system added simply 73,000 jobs – far fewer than anticipated – in July.
Trump claimed, with out proof, that the numbers have been “RIGGED as a way to make the Republicans, and ME, look dangerous” and the US financial system was, in reality, “BOOMING” on his watch.
Listed here are the important thing US politics tales of the day:
Inquiry into ex-special counsel Jack Smith over Trump investigations
The affirmation of an investigation into Jack Smith comes after Arkansas senator Tom Cotton, a Republican, requested final week that Smith be investigated for “unprecedented interference within the 2024 election”.
The Hatch Act, a federal legislation handed in 1939, limits sure political actions of federal workers. Trump, together with different outstanding Republican lawmakers, have argued that Smith’s investigations into Trump amounted to unlawful political exercise.
Smith in the end introduced two felony indictments towards Trump in 2023 however resigned in January this yr earlier than both got here to trial.
Learn the complete story
Republicans slam Trump’s firing of Bureau of Labor Statistics chief
The firing of Erika McEntarfer, who had been confirmed to her function in January 2024 throughout Joe Biden’s presidency, has alarmed members of Trump’s personal occasion.
“If the president is firing the statistician as a result of he doesn’t just like the numbers however they’re correct, then that’s an issue,” mentioned Wyoming Republican senator Cynthia Lummis. “It’s not the statistician’s fault if the numbers are correct and that they’re not what the president had hoped for.”
Kentucky senator Rand Paul, one other Republican, questioned whether or not McEntarfer’s firing was an efficient means of enhancing the numbers.
Learn the complete story
Trump says Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’s previous feedback make pardoning him ‘harder’
Donald Trump says he considers Sean ‘“Diddy” Combs “kind of half-innocent” regardless of his felony conviction in federal court docket in July – however the president known as pardoning the music mogul “harder” due to previous criticism.
“Once I ran for workplace, he was very hostile,” Trump mentioned of the Unhealthy Boy Information founder. “It’s arduous, you realize? We’re human beings. And we don’t prefer to have issues cloud our judgment, proper? However whenever you knew somebody and also you have been nice, and you then run for workplace, and he made some horrible statements.”
Combs was discovered responsible on 2 July of two counts of transportation to have interaction in prostitution, with every leaving him dealing with as much as 10 years in jail – however he was acquitted of extra critical sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy costs.
Learn the complete story
Evaluation: Durham disclosures additional undermine Gabbard’s claims of plot towards Trump
Tulsi Gabbard, the director of US nationwide intelligence, hoped to uncover proof that Barack Obama and his nationwide safety crew conspired to undermine Donald Trump in a slow-motion coup.
However a beforehand labeled annexe to a report by one other particular counsel, John Durham – appointed in the direction of the tip of Trump’s first presidency – has additional undermined Gabbard’s case.
It confirms that Russian spies have been behind the emails that have been initially launched as the results of a Russian cyber-hack of inside Democratic info channels and which Trump supporters believed confirmed the marketing campaign of Hillary Clinton, his 2016 opponent, conspiring to accuse him of colluding with Moscow.
Learn the complete story
What else occurred immediately:
-
The Trump administration terminated 1,902 Nationwide Institutes of Well being grants totalling greater than $4.4bn between January and the tip of July, in accordance with Grant Witness information. NIH adopted steering from the so-called “division of presidency effectivity” (Doge) and Trump’s government orders to chop prices.
Catching up? Right here’s what occurred 1 August 2025.
