Karen E. Gilbert, one of the lead prosecutors in Special Counsel Jack E. Smith’s attempt to convict former President Donald Trump of mishandling White House documents, is also a past campaign donor to Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and the Democratic National Committee, according to the Federal Elections Commission (FEC).
Gilbert’s past political donations were flagged Tuesday by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who demanded answers in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, as well as a full roster of the staff working for the special counsel.
The issue was also highlighted by Trump supporters on social media as the former president was arraigned in Miami:
FEC records suggest that Gilbert, who is listed as a Department of Justice employee based in Florida, donated $1,000 to Biden and $250 to the Biden Action Fund in the 2019-20 cycle; $500 to the Democratic National Committee in 2013; $800 to Obama during the 2011-12 election cycle; and $1250 to Obama in 2007-08.
Fox News reported:
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R- Fla., sent a letter Tuesday to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland demanding information on the office of special counsel Jack Smith, revealing that one of the prosecutors on his team investigating Trump for his alleged mishandling of classified documents previously contributed to President Biden’s 2020 campaign and faced misconduct allegations in 2009.
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Gaetz is demanding that the names of all the people working on the case in Smith’s office be made public.
The congressman claimed in his letter that Smith’s past work “is both highly irregular and of extraordinary public concern,” specifically “how his office is structured,” and is giving Garland until July 7 to cough up “all staff rosters, phone lists, or similar records, within the custody or control of the Department of Justice, depicting all employees hired by or detailed to the office of Special Counsel Jack Smith.”
Smith’s predecessor, Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who investigated then-President Trump for “Russia collusion,” faced criticism for hiring several Hillary Clinton donors, including the former attorney for the Clinton Foundation, a family charity that was at the center of corruption allegation by Clinton’s critics.
Gilbert is controversial for other reasons. As Breitbart News’ Kristina Wong reported, she “was once reprimanded by a federal judge for secretly recording a defense lawyer and his investigator.”
Smith’s team appeared in federal court Tuesday in Miami, as did former President Trump, who surrendered to authorities for his arraignment — the first of any president or former president of the United States.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the new biography, Rhoda: ‘Comrade Kadalie, You Are Out of Order’. He is also the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.