Former US Attorney Jack Smith, who led two investigations against Trump, is under investigation by the Office of Special Counsel

Former special counsel Jack Smith, who led two criminal investigations against now-President Donald Trump in the midst of the election campaign, is under investigation for alleged illegal political activity, the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), an independent federal agency, confirmed.

Smith, who led the investigation into Trump's alleged mishandling of classified documents and also the election interference case over the Jan. 6, now being investigated by the Hatch Act Unit, whose mission is to enforce rules prohibiting government employees from engaging in political activity.

Confirmation of the investigation came from an email written by Charles Baldis, a senior advisor to the OSC. The New York Post was the first media outlet to report the message. Subsequently, other news organizations confirmed the investigation.

The investigation became official after Republican Senator Tom Cotton publicly called on the OSC to investigate Smith for "unprecedented interference in the 2024 election."

A source familiar with the case told NBC News that the OSC notified Cotton that it will move forward with the case following his request.

“Jack Smith’s legal actions were nothing more than a tool for the Biden and Harris campaigns,” the Arkansas senator wrote on X. “This isn’t just unethical, it is very likely illegal campaign activity from a public office.”

Normally, Hatch Act violations are not referred to the Justice Department.

For example, in 2019, the OSC recommended that President Trump remove White House counselor Kellyanne Conway for Hatch Act violations, but ultimately the case was not referred to the DOJ.