WASHINGTON — Former special counsel Jack Smith testified Thursday before the House Judiciary Committee about his investigation into President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, offering a pointed account of how he said prosecutors built their case and what he expects next.
Smith told lawmakers that his investigation revealed Trump “sought to prey” on his supporters and “looked for ways to stay in power,” culminating in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack. In his remarks, Smith also said, “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,” an assertion delivered during the nearly five-hour session, according to the Associated Press.
The hearing also drew attention to the legal guardrails that accompanied Smith’s work. The report said the committee delved into details including testimony previously given to the Jan. 6 panel and a gag order placed on Trump during the investigation over efforts to intimidate witnesses.
Outside the witnesses and questioning, the exchange reflected the continuing political tension around Jan. 6. The report said Trump was live-posting about Smith during the hearing, and it described an appearance by Stewart Rhodes, founder of the Oath Keepers, in the room. Smith said he believes Trump officials will do “everything in their power” to prosecute him but that he would “not be intimidated” by attacks from the president. Smith also said, “I’m not going to pretend that didn’t happen because he’s threatening me,” while asserting that investigators had gathered proof Trump committed “serious crimes.”
Smith told lawmakers that once Trump won reelection in 2024, he abandoned the cases against him, following Justice Department protocol against prosecuting a sitting president. The report said Trump had faced a four-count indictment in the conspiracy to overthrow the election and, separately, another case in which Smith’s team indicted Trump over holding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago home.
Republican and Democratic lawmakers used the hearing to press competing themes about what they called Smith’s credibility and the intent behind the prosecution. The report said Republicans highlighted developments as they sought to sow doubt about Smith’s now-defunct case, while Democrats warned that Trump’s allies were trying to rewrite history after Trump’s supporters attacked the Capitol in the struggle over the election’s outcome against Democrat Joe Biden.
Smith also faced follow-up questions about what lawmakers might do next. The report said Smith is expected to be called before the Senate, and it said he had been unable to discuss the documents case that lawmakers want to probe. The report said Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon halted the release of a report on that case with an injunction set to expire next month, and it said Trump’s lawyers asked for the report to be left permanently under seal.
One line of questioning focused on a star witness from Jan. 6 testimony. Republicans have fixated for years on responding to the account given by former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, the report said, who described being told about Trump lunging for the steering wheel in the presidential limousine as he demanded to join supporters at the Capitol. Rep. Jim Jordan asked Smith, “Mr. Smith, is Cassidy Hutchinson a liar?” Smith responded that Hutchinson’s testimony was “second hand,” adding that investigators and a Secret Service agent in the car “did not confirm what happened.”
Jordan pressed Smith on whether Hutchinson would have been brought to the witness stand anyway, and Smith said he had not made “any final determinations.” Smith added, “We had a large choice of witnesses,” and he said a central challenge was presenting the case “because we did have so many witnesses.” Smith also said, “Some of the most powerful witnesses were witnesses who, in fact, were fellow Republicans who had voted for Donald Trump, who had campaigned for him and who wanted him to win the election,” according to the report.
Smith sought to defend the general posture of the investigation and his own role. The report said he told lawmakers, “I am not a politician and I have no partisan loyalties,” and added, “Throughout my public service, my approach has always been the same — follow the facts and the law without fear or favor.” The report said Republicans attempted to portray Smith as a prosecutor who needed to be “reined in” by higher-ups as he pursued Trump, and they singled out the collection of phone toll records of members of Congress, including former GOP Rep. Kevin McCarthy.
During one exchange, Rep. Brandon Gill criticized Smith’s use of nondisclosure agreements, telling him it “hide[d]” subpoenas from subjects and from the public. Smith said investigators collected the phone records as a “common practice” to understand the “scope of the conspiracy” to overturn the 2020 election, and Smith said, “My office didn’t spy on anyone.” Smith told lawmakers he sought nondisclosure agreements because of witness intimidation, citing Trump’s warnings that he would be “coming after” those who cross him. Smith said, “I had grave concerns about obstruction of justice in this investigation, specifically with regards to Donald Trump,” and he said it was not incumbent on prosecutors “to wait until someone gets killed before they move for an order to protect the proceedings.”
Democrats used the hearing to connect the legal process to what Smith described as risks to democratic governance. Rep. Pramila Jayapal asked Smith to describe the toll on American democracy if the nation did not hold a president accountable for fraudulent actions. Smith said, “If we do not hold the most powerful people in our society to the same standards, the rule of law, it can be catastrophic,” and he added, “It can endanger our election process, it can endanger election workers and ultimately,