DOJ Discovers Jack Smith Documents in Forgotten Room
The Department of Justice has uncovered a cache of documents from former special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into President Donald Trump, stashed in burn bags inside a room that personnel were reportedly unaware of, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche revealed on Tuesday.
Speaking on the “Hang Out with Sean Hannity” podcast, Blanche said the room was discovered at DOJ headquarters “a few months ago” and contained a significant volume of material from Smith’s now-dismissed investigations. According to Fox News, which first reported the revelation, the documents were found in burn bags — containers typically used by government agencies to hold sensitive materials designated for destruction.
Context
The discovery is the latest in a series of revelations about mishandled documents from high-profile investigations. It follows a similar finding by FBI Director Kash Patel in July 2025, who uncovered thousands of documents related to the Trump-Russia “Crossfire Hurricane” investigation in burn bags hidden inside a secret Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) at FBI headquarters.
Blanche suggested that the placement of the documents appeared intentional, telling Hannity: “This one was in a place where I get the point that an honorable FBI agent might have left it there because it was not where it would normally be to be destroyed. [We] kind of stumbled on it, but it looked almost intentional.”
Key Developments
Jack Smith was appointed as special counsel in November 2022 by then-Attorney General Merrick Garland, overseeing two major investigations into Donald Trump: the classified documents case concerning records kept at Mar-a-Lago, and the January 6 election interference case. Both cases were dismissed or dropped after Trump’s election victory in 2024, with the DOJ adopting the policy that sitting presidents cannot be prosecuted.
In a related development, a former federal prosecutor was charged in May with stealing the sealed volume of Smith’s report on the classified documents case. According to CNBC, Carmen Mercedes Lineberger is accused of saving the sealed portion of Smith’s report under the file name “Bundt_Cake_Recipe.pdf” and emailing it from her DOJ account to her personal Gmail account.
The discovery at DOJ also echoes findings by former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino, who told Hannity in April that he found a “mother lode” of Russiagate files inside FBI burn bags. Bongino described one roughly 100-page document as “the keys to the kingdom on Crossfire,” adding: “I’m reading this document, and I’m like, ‘I can’t believe this happened in the United States.’”
Analysis & Implications
The repeated discovery of sensitive documents in burn bags — containers meant to facilitate destruction, not preservation — raises serious questions about document handling procedures across the Justice Department and FBI. The fact that a room full of materials from a former special counsel’s investigation could go unnoticed by DOJ personnel suggests systemic failures in record-keeping and security protocols.
A federal judge permanently blocked the release of the second volume of Jack Smith’s report in February, according to CBS News. Judge Aileen Cannon ruled that releasing the report would violate due process protections for Trump and his co-defendants, whose cases were dismissed without a finding of guilt.
The revelations come amid ongoing Republican-led efforts to investigate the origins of the Trump-Russia probe and the conduct of former DOJ and FBI officials. The Trump administration has taken an aggressive posture toward what it characterizes as “weaponization” of the justice system, including criminal investigations into former intelligence officials and the firing of FBI agents involved in Smith’s classified documents prosecution.
What’s Next
Several key questions remain unanswered. Blanche did not detail the specific contents or volume of the Jack Smith documents discovered, and no formal DOJ press release has been issued beyond his podcast comments. It remains unclear whether the documents will be preserved, reviewed, or released to Congress, and whether the discovery has led to any internal investigations or criminal referrals.
As Congress continues its oversight of the Justice Department, the discovery is likely to fuel further scrutiny of document management practices and could become a flashpoint in the broader debate over transparency and accountability in high-profile federal investigations.