Jack Smith to Testify Before House Judiciary Committee
Jack Smith, the former special counsel, is set to appear in a televised hearing at the Capitol on Thursday. He will face questions from members of the House Judiciary Committee, which includes both Republicans and Democrats, about the two prosecutions involving President Donald Trump.
The House Judiciary Committee, led by Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), is expected to assert that Smith has engaged in politically motivated prosecutions against prominent presidential candidates to interfere with the upcoming 2024 election.
This appearance marks the second time recently that Smith has addressed the Republican-led committee; he participated in an eight-hour private deposition in December.
Smith has expressed interest in speaking publicly about his work, while Trump has referred to him as a “thug” and indicated he wishes to publicly confront the issues in the Oval Office. After learning of Smith’s initial private testimony, Trump expressed a preference for public questioning, stating, “I’m not going to be able to answer any questions, so I’d rather have him testify in public.”
The hearing is scheduled to commence at 10 a.m. and is part of the committee’s ongoing probe into Smith’s role as special counsel.
Republicans have particularly scrutinized Smith for placing a gag order on Trump during the presidential campaign, hastening court processes, and attempting to subpoena records and phone data of numerous Trump supporters, including several congressional members.
A source familiar with the hearing told Fox News Digital that Republicans might also seek controversial phone records. Additionally, they are likely to question Smith’s team over a $20,000 payment made to an FBI source, referred to as a confidential human source, to gather information on Trump.
Smith previously indicted Trump over allegations of attempting to unlawfully overturn the 2020 election and mishandling classified documents. However, he later dropped both cases after Trump won the 2024 election, citing Justice Department policies that prevent the prosecution of sitting presidents.
In an opening statement, which was shared with Fox News Digital, Smith plans to affirm his support for the decision to indict Trump. He is expected to say, “Our investigation provides evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in criminal conduct. If you asked me today whether I would prosecute a former president based on the same facts, I would do so regardless of whether that president was a Republican or a Democrat.”
Smith’s team has indicated that he will emphasize that his actions were appropriate and aligned with the Justice Department policies on election interference. However, he will refrain from discussing matters that could unveil legally protected grand jury information or specific details from the second volume of his final report regarding classified documents involving Trump, which has been sealed until February.
Another lingering issue involves Smith acquiring phone data from several Republican senators and representatives amidst his investigation into the 2020 election. He has consistently defended this action, claiming it was not motivated by partisanship. He noted, “If Donald Trump had chosen to call a number of Democratic senators, we would have had access to the call records of Democratic senators. So the responsibility for why these records exist and why we collected them lies with Donald Trump.”
Republican lawmakers targeted by subpoenas, such as Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), have contended that these actions violated their constitutional rights, highlighting the extra protections the Constitution provides to its members.
