(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) The office of Special Counsel Jack Smith carried out an urgent process to purchase digital storage and management software for evidence in the weeks after it indicted President Donald Trump in June 2023.
The purchase of “Axon Investigate,” revealed Monday by the Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project, raises questions about what digital evidence Smith’s officials were attempting to store and for what purpose.
The Oversight Project released more than 800 documents a day before Smith is scheduled to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee about growing evidence that his investigation of Trump targeted Republican lawmakers.
As seen in a series of emails obtained through open-records requests, the effort to acquire the software began on June 26, 2023, just 18 days after Smith secured a grand jury indictment against Trump in connection with his handling of classified documents.
A federal official first reached out to Axon to inquire about the price, receiving an unofficial quote little more than a week later. Then, on July 12, an official whose name was redacted by the DOJ approved the quote and expressed urgency about getting the software installed.
BREAKING: Newly released DOJ records reveal Jack Smith's Special Counsel office bought Axon evidence software for its investigation. We believe Jack Smith should be asked questions about this purchase. 🧵 pic.twitter.com/Col1R547Lm
— Oversight Project (@ItsYourGov) September 28, 2026
“We are in desperate need of this software and want to have it installed as soon as possible,” the official wrote, providing the DOJ’s address to Axon account executive Chase Hill.
Smith’s office demanded overnight shipping. In response, Hill even offered to waive the sales tax on the invoice.
After a few email exchanges, another official named Ariel said the official was authorized to make the purchase, which they described as “urgent.”
In another email, the DOJ official pressed Christina Zeman, an account manager at Axon, for updates on the order.
“What is the status of this order? We need this to be processed as soon as possible,” the DOJ official asked on July 17. “Is there a way for you to ship us the dongles and then have the paperwork and payment completed afterward?”
In a separate email, the unnamed DOJ official reiterated the urgency on July 19: “We really need this software as soon as possible.”
A few hours later, Zeman replied with a UPS tracking number. Headline USA attempted to verify the tracking information, but it appeared to have been removed since then.
Headline USA reached out to Axon for comment but had not received a response by the time of publication.
The Oversight Project said the emails raised broader questions about Smith’s office and whether the DOJ should target contractors involved in the investigation.
“[Axon] and every contractor that served Smith should face federal scrutiny, including whether their federal contracts should still be honored,” the nonprofit wrote on X. “Did they skirt or violate audit limits?”
Smith's office then rewrote its purchasing policy. Axon rushed to equip Jack Smith's lawfare operation against President Trump. It and every contractor that served Smith should face federal scrutiny, including whether their federal contracts should still be honored. Did they… pic.twitter.com/NifR1wYJTo
— Oversight Project (@ItsYourGov) September 28, 2026
