A FORMER Justice Department lawyer who brought two criminal cases against President Donald Trump during Joe Biden’s presidency is now under investigation.

The Office of Special Counsel confirmed on Saturday that it is investigating Jack Smith, who in 2023 brought cases alleging that Mr Trump conspired to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and that he was illegally retaining classified documents at his private Mar-a-Lago palace in Florida.

Mr Trump disputed his 2020 election loss to Mr Biden, and was indicted for alleged incitement of rioters who stormed the Capitol, the building housing the US Congress, on January 6 2021, seeking to overturn the result. That, with the cases brought by Mr Smith, was dropped when he was re-elected president late last year, based on Justice Department policy prohibiting the indictment of a sitting president.

The investigation into Mr Smith follows demands for one by Republican Senator Tom Cotton, and concerns suggestions that the cases against Mr Trump were politically motivated and designed to help the Democrats win re-election.