Jack Smith walked into a congressional hearing on Thursday for what may be his only public opportunity to explain why he twice charged Donald Trump with federal crimes—and to insist politics had nothing to do with those decisions. "No one should be above the law in this country," the former special counsel told lawmakers, arguing that the evidence compelled him to act. Smith accused the president of orchestrating "a criminal scheme to overturn the results" of the 2020 election, the New York Times reports, and said Trump's conduct "undermined democracy and the rule of law."
House Republicans, led by Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, used the hearing to paint Smith as part of a partisan project to head off Trump's political comeback. Jordan accused Smith and his team of interfering in "the democratic process" by pursuing a candidate for high office. With the president apparently watching the televised hearing, GOP members repeatedly alleged a Democratic-driven conspiracy but introduced no new factual support, focusing instead on Smith's efforts to obtain phone metadata for Trump and allies who were trying to reverse the election outcome.
Smith, whose indictments in Washington and Florida ultimately collapsed in court, kept his responses controlled and sparse, a contrast to the heated exchanges on the dais. He declined to delve into the still-sealed details of the classified documents case overseen by a Trump-appointed judge, sticking mostly to the election interference indictment. The session unfolded against an aggressive campaign by Trump allies to discredit Smith and those who once investigated the former president, per the Post. The FBI—now led by Trump ally Kash Patel—has been sifting internal records for material on past Trump-related probes, drawing criticism that the bureau is being used to settle political scores.
Calling the former special prosecutor "a deranged animal" who has "destroyed many lives under the guise of legitimacy," Trump posted Thursday on Truth Social that Smith was losing in the appearance. Still, Republican members had not rebutted the findings of Smith's findings on the classified documents or the 2020 election, per Politico. Trump also said he hopes Attorney General Pam Bondi is investigating Smith's actions. At one point, Smith told the committee he expects prosecutors in the Justice Department to "find some way" to indict him, per the Hill. "They've been ordered to by the president," he said.
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
