Iowa, on Wednesday described several FBI internal emails that appeared to discuss the early stages of the bureau’s investigation into President Donald Trump and his use of fake electors to overturn the 2020 election.

Top House Democrats say that the way in which Jack Smith's staffers were fired "very likely violated longstanding federal laws."

Mr. Trump has declared on Truth Social that Mr. Smith “should be prosecuted for election interference & prosecutorial misconduct.” The president has also called him a “career criminal.” He also reposted the radio host Mark Levin’s view that “Jack Smith must go to prison.”

Plus: Kash Patel, Trump's pick to lead the FBI, and his role in Jan. 6 misinformation | Trump pledges sweeping tariffs on steel, semiconductors

During Jan. 15 confirmation hearings for Pam Bondi, Trump's nominee for attorney general who oversees the FBI as part of the Justice Department, Democratic senators pressed Bondi on whether Patel was a good choice to run the agency, pointing to Patel's previous comments calling for downsizing the intelligence community.

Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee are demanding to see the volume of special counsel Jack Smith’s report dealing with the Mar-a-Lago classified documents investigation, asserting it has

In light of their actions, the Acting Attorney General does not trust these officials to assist in faithfully implementing the President’s agenda.”

None of them had said publicly that they wanted a pardon, and it’s not clear any of them would have accepted one. But some top Democrats, like Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, had endorsed the notion of preemptively pardoning prosecutors, particularly Smith.

Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira had been charged with conspiring with the president to obstruct an FBI investigation.

As Republicans' take on the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection evolved from disapproving to defensive, Kash Patel played a role in reframing their position.