Justice Department officials say they have uncovered materials connected to former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigations in a room that had not previously been identified during routine reviews, adding a new chapter to ongoing scrutiny surrounding the federal probes of President Donald Trump.
The revelation came during an appearance by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche on Sean Hannity’s podcast, where he discussed efforts by the Trump administration to review actions taken by federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies over the past decade.
While discussing allegations of government misconduct and ongoing investigations into the origins of the Trump-Russia probe, Hannity asked Blanche about reports involving so-called “burn bags” discovered within federal facilities. Burn bags are commonly used throughout the government to securely dispose of classified or sensitive materials.
Blanche confirmed that he was aware of the discovery and said some of the materials had already been provided to congressional investigators.
“I know of its existence,” Blanche said. “I’ve seen some of the material.”
According to Blanche, the issue was not the existence of the burn bags themselves, which are commonly found throughout government agencies, but rather where some of the materials were discovered. He noted that federal officials came across a room at the Department of Justice containing records related to the Jack Smith investigation that had not previously been known to investigators reviewing the matter.
“We found a room like that at DOJ a few months ago,” Blanche said. “It’s not fair to say it was a secret room, but it’s a room that had a lot of material in it. It was actually from the Jack Smith investigation and nobody knew it existed.”
Blanche added that the room contained materials that would not have been located through normal review procedures.
“It’s not stuff that in the regular course we would have found,” he said.
When Hannity asked whether the room contained evidence, Blanche responded, “Yes. Yeah, we’re looking at it.”
The deputy attorney general also said some of the information discovered has already been shared with Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA), and Sen. Ron Johnson, R-(WI), both of whom have been conducting oversight investigations into federal agencies.
“A lot of it has already gone to Chairman Grassley,” Blanche said. “Some of the materials that Chairman Grassley’s released publicly and Senator Johnson’s released publicly already have come from those materials.”
The comments are likely to fuel renewed interest among Republicans who have long argued that federal agencies improperly targeted Trump and his associates through a series of investigations stretching back to the 2016 election.
Smith, who was appointed special counsel by Attorney General Merrick Garland in 2022, oversaw federal investigations into Trump’s handling of classified documents and his actions following the 2020 election. Both cases were ultimately dropped after Trump’s victory in the 2024 presidential election.
Blanche did not provide details about the specific contents of the newly discovered materials or indicate whether any criminal wrongdoing had been uncovered. However, he said Justice Department officials continue to review records connected to prior investigations as part of broader efforts to determine whether misconduct occurred within federal agencies.
The discovery comes as Trump administration officials continue to promise greater transparency surrounding high-profile investigations and intelligence matters that have dominated American politics for much of the past decade.
