JONATHAN TURLEY: Jack Smith’s secret surveillance of Patel and Wiles should alarm us all

It's alarming to learn that former Special Counsel Jack Smith targeted Trump allies Kash Patel and Susie Wiles with secret surveillance orders in 2022-2023.

Jonathan Turley is a Fox News Media contributor and the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University.  

Smith was a controversial choice as special counsel because of his history of aggressive legal arguments and tactics, including his unanimous loss before the Supreme Court in the case that overturned the conviction of former Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnell. He is the author of the new book "Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution" (Simon & Schuster, Feb 3, 2026), on the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution.on the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution.

His tendency to stretch the law to the breaking point also did not play well with juries in high-profile cases, including his case against former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, who was accused of using campaign funds to hide an extramarital affair. That case ended in an acquittal. He is a nationally recognized legal scholar who has written extensively in areas ranging from constitutional law to legal history to the Supreme Court. He has written over three dozen academic articles that have appeared in a variety of leading law journals.