The U.S. Office of Special Counsel has opened an investigation into Jack Smith, the former Justice Department special counsel who brought two criminal cases against Donald Trump during the 2024 campaign. The watchdog confirmed the probe on 2 Aug., saying it is examining whether Smith’s handling of those prosecutions violated the Hatch Act, the federal law that bars most government employees from using their positions to influence elections. Smith left government service earlier this year after dropping the election-interference and classified-documents cases once Trump returned to the White House. The inquiry was prompted by a referral from Republican Senator Tom Cotton, who alleges that Smith sought unusually rapid trial dates to damage Trump politically. Hatch Act penalties are generally administrative—such as reprimand or dismissal—raising questions about what remedies could apply now that Smith is a private citizen. In a separate development, Attorney General Pam Bondi on 4 Aug. directed federal prosecutors to convene a grand jury to investigate claims that officials in Barack Obama’s administration fabricated intelligence about Russia’s interference in the 2016 election. The action follows a criminal referral from Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who declassified documents she says cast doubt on the Obama-era assessment. The grand jury inquiry allows prosecutors to issue subpoenas and consider potential indictments, though no charges are imminent. Together, the two investigations underscore how the Trump administration is deploying oversight and prosecutorial tools against figures involved in earlier probes of the former president and his campaign.