Republicans tried to snag Jack Smith on technicalities today by Hailey Fuchs and Kyle Cheney
Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, questioned former special counsel Jack Smith on Thursday in a hearing focused on Smith’s investigations into President Donald Trump’s mishandling of classified documents and role in the Jan. 6 attack. The hearing is an opportunity for the career prosecutor to publicly offer his inside perspective on the investigations, which both led to unprecedented indictments. Both were scuttled once it was clear that Trump would return to the Oval Office; Department of Justice policy prevents prosecution of a sitting president. Republicans and the president have accused Smith of pursuing a politically motivated case against the president. Trump has denied wrongdoing while attacking Smith, calling him a “criminal” who ought to be investigated and “put in prison.” Smith defended his investigations in an hourslong closed-door meeting with lawmakers in December, saying he said he had “proof beyond a reasonable doubt” of what his investigations laid out. He’s denied accusations of bias.
Republicans finally had their moment to take on the man who tried to put President Donald Trump in jail. But they didn’t land any significant blows.
During Thursday’s House Judiciary Committee hearing with Jack Smith, GOP members spent almost no time challenging the facts of the criminal case that the former special counsel brought against Trump: that he conspired to corrupt the results of the 2020 election and seize a second term he didn’t win.
Instead, Republican committee members spent much of the hearing challenging the technical aspects of Smith’s probe into Trump’s election interference, including whether the veteran federal prosecutor properly signed his oath of office as special counsel and if he was sufficiently cognizant of the Constitution’s “speech or debate” clause that protects Congress from executive branch overreach.
Former special counsel Jack Smith is publicly testifying for the first time on Thursday to the House Judiciary Committee, defending his two criminal investigations of President Donald Trump. During a closed-door session in December, Smith defended his probes to Congress and said his team developed “proof beyond a reasonable doubt” that Trump tried to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The case was dropped by Smith after Trump won reelection in 2024. Smith also reportedly said there was “powerful evidence” the president kept highly classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, after leaving office in 2021. Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the Republican chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, led the hearing and opened by accusing Smith and others of being out to “get” Trump through his criminal cases. “It was always about politics and to get President Trump. They were willing to do just about anything,” Jordan said at the beginning of the hearing, while also claiming it was an effort to ensure Trump wouldn’t be reelected in 2024. The top Democrat on the committee, Rep. Jamie Raskin, offered an opposing statement and praised Smith for condemning Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election. “Donald Trump says you’re a criminal and you belong in prison,” Raskin said. “Not because you did anything wrong – but because you did everything right. You pursued the facts, you followed the law.” After being sworn in, Smith emphasized his commitment to upholding the rule of law and reiterated that his decisions were based on evidence and legal requirements, not political affiliations.
They questioned whether Smith was too friendly with a Justice Department official who recommended him for the special counsel position and challenged his approval of a $20,000 payment to a confidential human source for the FBI who was reviewing video and photos for the bureau.
House Judiciary Committee chair Jim Jordan pressed Smith on his view of the House’s now-defunct select committee to investigate the events of Jan. 6, 2021, which also probed Trump’s 2020 election gambit. He also questioned that panel’s reliance on former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson to implicate Trump in plans to overturn the results favoring Joe Biden. To read more go to the link below:
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/22/jack-smith-testimony-trump-00742457
