Former special counsel Jack Smith defends Trump investigation
WASHINGTON— Former special counsel Jack Smith on Thursday defended his findings that President Trump “willfully broke the law” in his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, telling lawmakers that Republican efforts to discredit the investigation were “false and misleading.”
“No one can be above the law in our country, and the law required this. [Trump] will be held accountable. That’s what I did,” Smith said during an often heated five-hour hearing before the House Judiciary Committee.
Smith appeared at the request of Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who accused him of conducting a politically motivated investigation and “silencing a candidate for high office.”
“It was always about politics and they were willing to do just about anything to win over President Trump,” Jordan said.
Jordan said the investigations into the Jan. 6 insurrection were “staged and choreographed” and said Smith would have “blown a hole in the 1st Amendment” if her accusations of Trump had been allowed to stand.
Trump has repeatedly called for Smith to be prosecuted over the investigation, demanded that he be disbarred, and suggested that the Advocate serve as his attorney. Check out General Pam Bondi’s behavior.
“I believe they will do their best” [indict me] “Because they were ordered to do so by the president,” Smith said at the hearing.
Smith’s 2023 investigation found that after Joe Biden’s victory in 2020, Trump launched a months-long disinformation campaign to discredit the results, as evidenced by audio recordings of a call in which he pressured Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find 11,780 votes.”
Trump’s attempt to sow discord in the election resulted in the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, Smith said. The president added that he caused and exploited rioters who tried to stop the certification of election results.
In closed-door testimony to the committee last month, Smith said the Justice Department had established a strong evidence base of Trump’s criminal plans to overturn the election.
In a separate case, the president allegedly illegally stored confidential documents at his Mar-a-Lago club after the loss.
Trump was indicted in the documents case in June 2023 and later on allegations of election conspiracy and fraud. Both cases were annulled after the president’s victory in the 2024 election due to his immunity.
Smith reiterated his findings in his opening statement.
“President Trump has been impeached because the evidence shows that he willfully violated the law, the laws that he was sworn to uphold,” she said. “Rather than admit defeat, President Trump embarked on a criminal scheme to overturn the results and prevent the lawful transfer of power.”
Republicans argued that the Justice Department’s subpoenas of phone records were an abuse of prosecutorial power and amounted to surveillance of senior government officials.
Smith said it is “common” for such data to be obtained in conspiracy investigations and that the records show search dates and times covering the days around Jan. 6, 2021, not the content.
Jordan questioned the special counsel’s decision regarding personnel selections, which included Justice Department investigators investigating the Trump campaign for alleged collusion with Russia in the 2016 presidential election.
“Democrats have been after President Trump for 10 years, a decade, and we should never forget what they did,” he said.
Smith, who has since left the Justice Department to open a private firm with former aides, was quick to defend the integrity of his team, adding that Trump has since sought revenge against career prosecutors, FBI agents and support staff for their involvement in the cases.
“These dedicated public servants are our best,” he said. “My fear is that we have seen the rule of law operate in our country for so long that many of us have come to accept it for granted.”
The hearing routinely devolved into arguments between party opponents; Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista) made harsh accusations against Smith, sparred with Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) over procedure, and gave up his time in “disgust” to the witness.
GOP committee members tried to poke holes in Smith’s findings regarding the events of Jan. 6. Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) accused Republicans on the committee of trying to “rewrite the history” of Jan. 6.
Midway through the hearing, Trump called Smith a “deranged animal” in a post on Truth Social and once again suggested the Justice Department investigate the former special prosecutor.
“I won’t be afraid,” Smith said. “We followed the facts and we followed the law. This process resulted in proof beyond a reasonable doubt that he committed serious crimes. I’m not going to pretend it didn’t happen because he threatened me.”
The hearing comes as Trump continues to repeat false claims that he won in 2020.
“This was a fraudulent election. Everybody knows that now. Meanwhile, numbers are coming out that show that even more clearly,” Trump said at a White House news briefing on Tuesday.
Addressing a global audience in Davos, Switzerland, the next day, he said “people will soon be judged for their actions.”
