Special counsel Jack Smith bolsters Trump investigation with two corruption experts as 'new phase' ramps up

According to a report from CNN, special counsel Jack Smith has given a signal where his investigation into Donald Trump is going by adding two specialists in public corruption cases to his staff.

Now that Smith, handpicked by Attorney General Merrick Garland to take over the Department of Justice's investigations of the former president, has settled in, CNN is reporting that a "new phase" of heightened scrutiny has also begun.

As the report notes, Smith reached out to two longtime colleagues to be at his "right hand" as the investigation proceeds.

According to CNN, two sources confirmed, "Raymond Hulser, the former chief of the DOJ’s public integrity section, and David Harbach, who conducted cases against former Sen. John Edwards and Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell," are joining the team and that Harbach has been seen observing ongoing trials involving members of the Proud Boys.

"The expansion under Smith shores up the office’s ability to examine broad conspiracy cases and determine the avenues of the investigation, another source said. They join a team of more than 20 prosecutors from DOJ, as well as senior advisers brought into the department in recent months, who were already investigating Trump and his allies," CNN is reporting before adding, "Smith and his new team have inherited the January 6 probe at a crucial juncture, as the public has a better understanding of the lengths the former president and his allies went to try to keep Trump in the Oval Office but also as congressional investigators hit the limits of their powers."

The report adds that the DOJ investigation has more tools than were available to the J6 committee, stating those tools, "include ongoing legal proceedings about piercing the shield of confidentiality that normally surrounds a president."

You can read more here.