Rep. Jordan Wants Answers on WH Meetings With Smith Aide

Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, is seeking answers from the Department of Justice and White House about reports that Jay Bratt, a top aide to special counsel Jack Smith, met with White House officials numerous times before Smith indicted former President Donald Trump on charges he mishandled presidential documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

Jordan, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, sent letters Tuesday to Attorney General Merrick Garland and White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients about the alleged relationship between Bratt and the Biden White House, which, if true, could reinforce the perception that Smith's pursuit of Trump is politically motivated.

Bratt also has been accused of threatening Stanley Woodward, an attorney for Trump aide Walt Nauta, that if Nauta didn't turn on Trump in the documents case, Bratt would sink Woodward's application for a federal judgeship. Nauta is a co-defendant in the case, along with Carlos De Oliveira, the property manager at Mar-a-Lago.

In his letter to Zients, Jordan requested "all documents and communications referring or relating to any appointment, meeting, or other visit by Mr. Bratt to the White House or the Executive Office of the President, and all documents and communications between the Executive Office of the President and the Department of Justice referring or relating to the investigation and/or prosecutions of Special Counsel Jack Smith."

Jordan requested similar documents in his letter to Garland.

In both letters, Jordan noted three meetings between Bratt and White House officials, including one on March 23, nine weeks before Trump was indicted in the documents case. Jordan said Bratt met with Caroline Saba, the White House Counsel's Office deputy chief of staff, and FBI Special Agent Danielle Ray for a "case-related interview."

Jordan gave Zients and Garland a deadline of 5 p.m. Sept. 12 to turn over the requested documents. He also asked them "to preserve all existing and future records and materials related to Mr. Bratt's appointments, meetings, and visits to the White House or Executive Office of the President, and any documents or communications referring or relating to Mr. Bratt's White House visits."