President Trump responds to Jack Smith’s subpoena
Smith’s attorney said in a statement that his client volunteered to answer questions from lawmakers about the investigation at the hearing.
Jack Smith, the former U.S. Department of Justice special counsel who brought two now-dropped criminal cases against President Donald Trump, will testify publicly before the House Judiciary Committee on January 22, the Republican majority announced on January 12.
In closed-door testimony before the committee in December, Smith defended the investigation into Trump and said the basis for the charges was “entirely about President Trump and his actions.”
“If you asked me today if I would prosecute a former president based on the same facts, I would do so regardless of whether the president was a Republican or a Democrat,” Smith said in a portion of his opening statement obtained by USA TODAY at the time.
Smith and his team secured an indictment in 2023 accusing Trump of illegally preserving classified documents after his first term in office and plotting to overturn his 2020 election loss. Smith dropped both cases after Trump won the 2024 presidential election, citing a Justice Department policy that prohibits prosecuting sitting presidents.
In his opening statement, Smith said the investigation had gathered “evidence beyond a reasonable doubt” that President Trump “engaged in a criminal scheme” to overturn the 2020 election that culminated in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. He added that investigators “have uncovered strong evidence that President Trump intentionally retained highly classified documents after he left office in January 2021.”
The commission released a video of the deposition and 255 pages of records on Dec. 31.
According to the memo, Smith told lawmakers that Trump was responsible for the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and staunchly defended Trump’s efforts to prosecute the president.
Regarding Trump’s alleged guilt in the Capitol riot, Smith said, “Our view of the evidence is that Mr. Trump caused and exploited the incident and that it was foreseeable to Mr. Trump.”
He also painted a portrait of recklessness when it came to national security documents.
“President Trump knowingly retained highly classified documents even after he left office in January 2021, storing them in social clubs, including bathrooms and ballrooms where events and gatherings were held,” the opening statement said.
Smith has previously defended the integrity of the investigation.
During his deposition, Smith adamantly denied that prosecutors were politically motivated and rejected suggestions that he was trying to influence the 2024 election. President Trump has repeatedly criticized Smith, calling him “crazy” and “a freak” who was “used by crooked Joe Biden to attack his political opponents.”
In a Jan. 12 interview on Fox News’ “Hannity,” Jordan expressed Republican frustration over Smith’s access to members’ phone records during the investigation.
Republican lawmakers expressed anger over revelations that investigators sought information from a wide range of conservative groups as part of their investigation into President Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 presidential election defeat, and also obtained limited cell phone data from eight Republican senators in the period before and after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters.
Smith’s first appearance on Capitol Hill came after Les Johnson, the Republican chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, was sworn in. Jim Jordan of Ohio State subpoenaed Smith for a private deposition. Mr. Smith requested a public hearing at the time.
USA TODAY has reached out to the commission for further comment.
Contributed by: Reuters
