Former special counsel Jack Smith testified Thursday that President Donald Trump caused the Jan. 6 Capitol attack and engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the 2020 election results, according to his five-hour appearance before the House Judiciary Committee.
Smith said Trump “sought to prey” on his supporters and “looked for ways to stay in power,” culminating in the assault on the Capitol. “Our investigation revealed that Donald Trump is the person who caused Jan. 6, it was foreseeable to him, and that he sought to exploit the violence,” Smith testified.
Smith’s testimony marks the first time the former prosecutor has publicly detailed his investigation since leaving the Justice Department last year. His account comes as Trump, now president again after winning reelection in 2024, wages a campaign to intimidate him and discredit his work, Smith said.
During the hearing, Trump live-posted on social media. Democratic Rep. Joe Neguse of Colorado read the posts aloud, including Trump’s statement: “Jack Smith is a deranged animal, who shouldn’t be allowed to practice Law. Hopefully the Attorney General is looking at what he’s done.”
Neguse responded directly to the conduct. “We have a word for this,” the congressman said. “It’s called weaponization. It’s called corruption.”
Smith, a career prosecutor who has worked on cases ranging from war crimes overseas to matters under both Republican and Democratic administrations, defended his conduct as apolitical. “I am not a politician and I have no partisan loyalties,” he testified. “Throughout my public service, my approach has always been the same — follow the facts and the law without fear or favor.”
The Investigation in Detail
Throughout the five-hour session, Smith detailed his investigation into the events surrounding Jan. 6, 2021. He said his team interviewed numerous witnesses, including officials at the state level, Trump campaign workers, and Trump advisers. Among the most credible witnesses, he said, were Republicans who had voted for Trump and campaigned for him.
Republicans pressed Smith on aspects of his investigation. Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the committee chairman, questioned him extensively about Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony. Hutchinson, a former White House aide, had testified to the Jan. 6 committee that Trump lunged for the steering wheel of the presidential limousine as he demanded to join supporters at the Capitol.
“Mr. Smith, is Cassidy Hutchinson a liar?” Jordan asked.
Smith acknowledged that Hutchinson’s account was second-hand and that the Secret Service agent present in the vehicle at the time “did not confirm what happened.” However, Smith noted that his team had considered many witnesses and had not made final determinations about whom to call.
“We had a large choice of witnesses,” Smith said.
Defending the Investigation
Republicans also pressed Smith on his collection of phone toll records from members of Congress, including then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Smith explained that this was standard investigative practice to understand “the scope of the conspiracy” to overturn the 2020 election.
“My office didn’t spy on anyone,” Smith said. He said he sought nondisclosure agreements to protect against witness intimidation, specifically citing Trump’s public statements that he would be “coming after” those who crossed him. “I had grave concerns about obstruction of justice in this investigation, specifically with regards to Donald Trump,” Smith added.
Democracy and Accountability
Democratic lawmakers focused on the broader implications of the case. Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington asked Smith about the toll on American democracy if the nation failed to hold a president accountable for fraudulent actions in elections.
“If we do not hold the most powerful people in our society to the same standards, the rule of law, it can be catastrophic,” Smith testified. “It can endanger our election process, it can endanger election workers and ultimately, our democracy.”
Smith noted that his investigation had concluded. Trump won reelection in November 2024, after which the Justice Department protocol against prosecuting a sitting president forced Smith to abandon his cases. But he said if circumstances were different, his view had not changed.
“If asked whether to prosecute a former president based on the same facts today, I would do so,” Smith said. “No one should be above the law in this country.”
The hearing touched on Trump’s recent decision to pardon approximately 1,500 people convicted in connection with the Jan. 6 attack, including those convicted of assaulting police officers. When asked about the pardons, Smith responded tersely.
“I don’t get it,” he said. “I never will.”
Smith said he expects to testify before the Senate, which is planning additional hearings. However, he said he remains unable to discuss his separate investigation into Trump’s handling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago home, a case that remains under court seal following an injunction by Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon.