Former Special Counsel Jack Smith is finally under federal investigation for his conduct while prosecuting President Donald Trump, but the scope of the investigation and the penalties Smith could face are limited because he is no longer a government employee.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) confirmed Monday that the independent Office of Special Counsel (OSC) has opened an ethics investigation into Smith. Specifically, the OSC is probing whether Smith violated the Hatch Act, which says it's illegal for government employees to engage in political activities that could impact elections.

Smith isn't going to face jail time or even a large fine even if he is found to have violated the Hatch Act, however, according to the Daily Caller.

"He can still be found in violation of the law,” senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation’s Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies Hans von Spakovsky told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “In that case, he could be barred from further federal service for a maximum of five years or have a civil fine imposed on him. While the statute says the maximum fine is $1,000, under the applicable federal regulation, 5 CFR 1201.126(a), this amount is adjusted for inflation and is currently at $1,365.”

"No rationale" but to affect election

Smith could also face a complaint that could lead to him not being able to practice law for a period of time or permanently, van Spakovsky said.

Cotton urged the OSC on July 30 to open the investigation, saying that some of Smith's actions had “no rationale except for an attempt to affect the 2024 election results.”

After indicting Trump on both his handling of classified documents and for trying to subvert the 2020 election in 2023, when Trump was already a candidate for president in 2024, Smith did his best to make sure at least one of the trials would be held before the election.

He asked the Supreme Court to intervene in the case to speed it up, and when that gambit failed, he took things even further.

Rogue Smith brief tried to hurt Trump

Here's the really egregious action by Smith that could lead to consequences for him: in October 2024, just a month before the election, Smith filed a huge brief containing what he felt was all the evidence against Trump, and the judge in the case, Tanya Chutkan, released it to the public.

The normal procedure for such a brief would be give the defense a chance to file a motion before its release, but Smith didn't do that.

He went rogue because it was his last chance to try to hurt Trump before the election, and that's illegal under the Hatch Act.

“Jack Smith’s legal actions were nothing more than a tool for the Biden and Harris campaigns,” Cotton wrote July 30 on X. “This isn’t just unethical, it is very likely illegal campaign activity from a public office.”

Smith and Chutkan should both be sanctioned for their actions with this brief, even though it didn't work and Trump was still elected by a healthy margin.

It has been clear from the start that Smith was out to get Trump by any means necessary, and it was so satisfying to see all of his efforts fail miserably. Punishing him for his wrongdoing should send a clear signal to others about what happens when you try to use the courts to destroy a political candidate.