{"id":2633169,"date":"2026-07-21T14:43:02","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T18:43:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/odni-urged-to-revoke-security-clearances-for-ex-jack-smith-team\/"},"modified":"2026-07-21T14:46:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T18:46:16","slug":"odni-urged-to-revoke-security-clearances-for-ex-jack-smith-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/odni-urged-to-revoke-security-clearances-for-ex-jack-smith-team\/","title":{"rendered":"ODNI urged to revoke security clearances for ex-Jack Smith team"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fodni-urged-to-revoke-security-clearances-for-ex-jack-smith-team%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2633169&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A watchdog organization,CASA,has urged the acting Director of National Intelligence,Bill Pulte,to review and possibly revoke the security clearances of former members of special counsel Jack Smith\u2019s team. This request follows the release of internal Justice Department messages indicating possible violations related to handling classified data and access to sensitive facilities during Smith\u2019s investigation into President Trump. CASA highlighted several former prosecutors involved in the case, raising concerns about security lapses, such as unauthorized access to classified materials and unsecured sensitive areas. Although no criminal wrongdoing has been confirmed, the group suggests these incidents warrant a review under federal security guidelines. The move coincides with broader scrutiny of Smith\u2019s conduct, including legislative inquiries into security breaches and the revocation of Smith\u2019s own clearance by the Trump governance.CASA also filed disciplinary complaints against some former prosecutors,amid ongoing questions about the integrity of the investigation and security protocols.The organization\u2019s push comes ahead of potential Senate actions on nominations related to the intelligence community, with Pulte\u2019s role as interim director presenting an opportunity for oversight.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>EXCLUSIVE \u2014<\/strong> A watchdog group is urging acting Director of National Intelligence <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/bill-pulte\/\">Bill Pulte<\/a> to review and potentially revoke the security clearances of former members of special counsel <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/jack-smith\/\">Jack Smith\u2019s<\/a> team over alleged lapses in handling classified information.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Center to Advance Security in America, or CASA, made the request in a letter sent Tuesday to Pulte that cited internal <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/department-of-justice\/\">Justice Department<\/a> messages released this month by Sen. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/chuck-grassley\/\">Chuck Grassley<\/a> (R-IA), the Senate judiciary committee chairman. The group, led by attorney James Fitzpatrick, argued the messages showed potential violations of protocols governing access to classified information and a sensitive compartmented information facility, or SCIF, used by Smith\u2019s office during its prosecution of President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\">Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4656732\/fifth-circuit-will-review-law-barring-felons-possessing-guns-is-federal-overreach\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Fifth Circuit will review if law barring felons from possessing guns is federal overreach<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4656896\/security-clearance-jack-smith-team-members-casa\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Bill Pulte is urged to revoke security clearances for ex-Jack Smith team members<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4656821\/missouri-prosecutor-removed-romantic-relationship-illegal-immigrant\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Missouri prosecutor removed after romantic and intimate relationship with illegal immigrant accused of sexual violence<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">Former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith, center, arrives to testify before the House Judiciary Committee about his investigations into President Donald Trump, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo\/J. Scott Applewhite)<\/p>\n<p>&#8221; data-large-file=&#8221;https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2026\/07\/localimages\/AP26022567122901.jpg?w=696&#8243; &#8220;https:><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith, center, arrives to testify before the House judiciary committee about his investigations into President Donald Trump at the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo\/J. Scott Applewhite)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">CASA named former Smith prosecutors Molly Gaston, Thomas Windom, Carli Rodriguez-Feo, Julie Edelstein, William O\u2019Neil, and Stephanie Van Buskirk, while asking Pulte to investigate others who may have been involved.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cDeliberate or negligent failure to comply with rules and regulations for protecting classified or other sensitive information raises doubt about an individual\u2019s trustworthiness, judgment, reliability, or willingness and ability to safeguard such information,\u201d according to the group\u2019s letter, shared exclusively with the<em> Washington Examiner<\/em>, which was signed by Fitzpatrick and cited the federal government\u2019s security-clearance <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dni.gov\/files\/NCSC\/documents\/Regulations\/SEAD-4-Adjudicative-Guidelines-U.pdf\">guidelines<\/a>. Fitzpatrick previously served as counsel to the Republican National Committee and worked in the first Trump administration, though CASA is a self-described nonpartisan organization.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two of the former prosecutors have separately drawn congressional scrutiny over the broader Arctic Frost investigation that led to Trump\u2019s federal prosecutions by Smith. House judiciary committee Republicans said Gaston <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/judiciary.house.gov\/sites\/evo-subsites\/republicans-judiciary.house.gov\/files\/evo-media-document\/2025-12-16-jdj-to-gaston-re-ti-request.pdf\">was involved in subpoenaing phone records<\/a> for several members of Congress, while Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/judiciary.house.gov\/media\/press-releases\/chairman-jordan-refers-former-jack-smith-attorney-justice-department\">referred Windom to the DOJ<\/a> last year for possible prosecution, alleging she improperly refused to answer questions about the investigation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">More recently, Grassley\u2019s records <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4640537\/doj-records-reveal-possible-classified-security-lapses-jack-smith-office-trump-prosecution\/\">described one instance<\/a> in which an individual was allegedly given access to classified material without confirmation of a required \u201cneed to know.\u201d Other messages reflected uncertainty over the movement of sensitive material and an April 2024 incident in which a SCIF accessible to Smith\u2019s office was apparently left unsecured overnight.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The released correspondence did not conclude that classified information was compromised or accuse the named employees of criminal wrongdoing. But Grassley has asked the DOJ to determine whether the incidents were investigated, whether material was compromised, and whether any evidence used in Smith\u2019s <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/mar-a-lago\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"518\">Mar-a-Lago<\/a> prosecution of Trump was affected by Wednesday, according to a previously issued letter.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">CASA said the disclosures warranted a clearance-eligibility review under Guideline K of the federal adjudicative standards, which addresses improper handling, disclosure, or safeguarding of protected information.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">A page from the federal government\u2019s Security Executive Agent Directive 4 outlines security concerns involving the negligent handling of classified or protected information.<\/p>\n<p>&#8221; data-large-file=&#8221;https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2026\/07\/localimages\/Screenshot-2026-07-21-at-11.41.23-AM.png?w=609&#8243; &#8220;https:><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A page from the federal government\u2019s Security Executive Agent Directive 4 outlines security concerns involving the negligent handling of classified or protected information.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The request gives Pulte, a Trump ally serving temporarily atop the intelligence community, another opportunity to weigh in on scrutiny of the Biden-era Trump investigations before the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/senate\/\">Senate<\/a> acts on Jay Clayton\u2019s nomination to become permanent director of national intelligence.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and former Securities and Exchange Commission chairman, faced the Senate intelligence committee last week.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">Bill Pulte is the incoming acting director of the Office of National Intelligence. (Mark Schiefelbein\/AP)<\/p>\n<p>&#8221; data-large-file=&#8221;https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2026\/07\/localimages\/WB.Defense1.061726.jpg?w=696&#8243; height=&#8221;658&#8243; width=&#8221;1024&#8243; &#8220;https:><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Bill Pulte is the acting director of the Office of National Intelligence. (Mark Schiefelbein\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Meanwhile, the Trump administration has already revoked Smith\u2019s own security clearance. In a March 14 <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/rollcall.com\/factbase\/trump\/transcript\/donald-trump-speech-department-of-justice-march-14-2025\">speech<\/a> at the DOJ last year, Trump said, \u201cWe revoked the clearances of deranged Jack Smith, Alvin Bragg, Letitia James, and the crooked law firms that aided their partisan persecutions.\u201d Trump, one month earlier, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/2025\/02\/suspension-of-security-clearances-and-evaluation-of-government-contracts\/\">issued a memorandum<\/a> directing the suspension of active clearances held by Smith\u2019s lawyer, Peter Koski, and Covington &#038; Burling personnel who assisted Smith.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">CASA has also pursued professional-discipline complaints tied to Smith\u2019s former team. Last month, it asked Pennsylvania\u2019s attorney disciplinary board to <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4601747\/dc-bar-official-targeted-ed-martin-complaint-partisan-posts\/\">investigate former Smith prosecutor Carmen Lineberger<\/a> if she is convicted of federal charges <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4577075\/former-prosecutor-charged-disguising-jack-smith-report-cake-recipe\/\">alleging she retained records from the Mar-a-Lago investigation<\/a> in personal email accounts disguised as cake-recipe files.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The clearance request arrives as questions surrounding Smith\u2019s conduct have intensified. Separate records released last week showed Smith\u2019s team accessed text-message material involving 44 members of <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/congress\/\">Congress<\/a> before a DOJ filter team had completed its privilege review, according to Grassley and a Trump DOJ letter.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4640537\/doj-records-reveal-possible-classified-security-lapses-jack-smith-office-trump-prosecution\/\">DOJ RECORDS REVEAL POSSIBLE CLASSIFIED SECURITY LAPSES INSIDE JACK SMITH\u2019S OFFICE DURING TRUMP PROSECUTION<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Grassley has said Smith has \u201canswering to do\u201d and that he intends to bring the former special counsel before the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/senate-judiciary-committee\/\">Senate judiciary committee<\/a> in the coming months.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-26\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-5\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> contacted ODNI for comment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Read the full letter here:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"scribd_iframe_embed\" title=\"CASA Letter to DNI Director Bill Pulte RE Smith Team_07.21.26\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/embeds\/1064569348\/content?start_page=1&#038;view_mode=scroll&#038;access_key=key-nE0WdYMdZres4GuZxTtR\" tabindex=\"0\" data-auto-height=\"true\" data-aspect-ratio=\"0.7729220222793488\" scrolling=\"no\" width=\"100%\" height=\"600\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe> <\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 12px auto 6px auto; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; display: block;\"> <a title=\"View CASA Letter to DNI Director Bill Pulte RE Smith Team_07.21.26 on Scribd\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/document\/1064569348\/CASA-Letter-to-DNI-Director-Bill-Pulte-RE-Smith-Team-07-21-26#from_embed\" style=\"color: #098642; text-decoration: underline;\">  CASA Letter to DNI Director Bill Pulte RE Smith Team_07.21.26 <\/a> by <a title=\"View reportoftheday's profile on Scribd\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/user\/697301857\/reportoftheday#from_embed\" style=\"color: #098642; text-decoration: underline;\"> reportoftheday <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Watchdog urges Pulte to review Jack Smith\u2019s team security clearances<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2633,"featured_media":2633170,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AP25351713743989.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[4786,32463,42563,50060,14057],"class_list":["post-2633169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-intelligence","tag-jack-smith","tag-odni","tag-security-clearance","tag-whistleblower"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AP25351713743989.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2633169","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2633"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2633169"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2633169\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2633172,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2633169\/revisions\/2633172"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2633170"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2633169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2633169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2633169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}