Newly-appointed Special Counsel Jack Smith, tapped by Attorney General Merick Garland to investigate former President Donald Trump, has a history of botched prosecutions of leading political leaders.

The Associated Press reported Saturday:

After a stint as a war crimes prosecutor, he rejoined the Justice Department to lead the public integrity section. During his tenure, the section pressed ahead with significant, but challenging, prosecutions against prominent public figures from both political parties.

Prosecutors scored a public corruption conviction against former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, a Republican, but the case was later overturned by the Supreme Court. The section also prosecuted former Democratic vice presidential nominee John Edwards, but a jury acquitted him on one count and deadlocked on others and the Justice Department declined to try him again.

Smith also had a number of victories:

Smith, for instance, led the unit when Arizona congressman Rick Renzi was convicted of corruption, a verdict that was left in place by the Supreme Court — though Trump pardoned the Republican before he left office. Former New York state Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was indicted in 2015 on corruption charges, and was later sent to prison.

As Breitbart News reported earlier this week, Smith’s wife, Katy Chevigny, contributed to President Joe Biden and to far-left, antisemitic Rep. Rashia Tlaib (D-MI). She also produced a documentary about former First Lady Michelle Obama.

Smith is tasked with the responsibility of determining whether to prosecute Trump in connection with the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, or the retention of presidential documents at Mar-a-Lago, which was the subject of an unprecedented raid earlier this year.

He will begin his investigation remotely, from the Netherlands, where he is recovering from a bicycle injury.

Trump was already targeted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller in connection with fraudulent claims by Democrats and journalists of “Russia collusion.” Mueller found no evidence to substantiate their claims, and sidestepped evidence that Democrats had planted the false charges.

There has been no special counsel appointed to handle inquiries into President Biden and his family members in connection with the financial dealings of his son, Hunter Biden, who is known to be under investigation.

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 recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.