Former special counsel Jack Smith gave testimony during a closed-door deposition on Capitol Hill where he informed House lawmakers that politics played no role in his investigations and prosecutions of President Donald Trump, denying the accusations made against him by Republicans. Smith spent a long eight hours being hammered by questions from the House Judiciary Committee, ultimately taking full responsibility for both cases he brought against then-candidate Trump.
The cases concerned the 2020 presidential election and the keeping of classified documents after President Trump left office at the end of his first term. “The decision to bring charges against President Trump was mine, but the basis for those charges rests entirely with President Trump and his actions, as alleged in the indictments returned by grand juries in two different districts,” Smith went on to say, according to Fox News.
Smith continued, “If asked whether to prosecute a former President based on the same facts today, I would do so regardless of whether the President was a Republican or Democrat.” The committee, led by Republicans, had been looking into the special counsel work completed by Smith for years. This week’s hearing was the first time lawmakers had the opportunity to ask him directly about it.
The GOP members of the committee were expected to bring up a number of grievances with Smith, including his seeking gag orders against Trump during his presidential campaign and his efforts to fast-track court proceedings and subpoenaing phone records for certain members of Congress.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md), a ranking member of the committee spoke with reporters in the afternoon following the hearing, telling them Smith spent hours “schooling” the committee. Raskin heaped a ton of praise on Smith for his public service and claimed that had the hearing been open, it would have been “devastating” for the president and the individuals involved in the “insurrectionary activities of January 6.”
Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) commented after the hearing concluded, aside from information about the subpoenas, which he had previously revealed he would ask Smith about, he could not reveal any details concerning the interview due to committee rules. “I can’t get into responses. We actually follow the rules. I don’t know about the Democrats,” Jordan stated.
Jordan is planning to release a transcript of the deposition, however, it could be weeks or even longer before that happens. Specific conditions have to be met before the committee can make transcripts from hearings public. The Ohio Republican also didn’t rule out bringing Smith in for a public hearing before Congress.
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Other members of the committee also played things close to the vest, saying little about what transpired during the eight-hour deposition. Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA) told reporters that there was no “real drama.” He also noted that Smith was professional. Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) had a similar sentiment about the hearing, telling reporters in the morning that the whole affair was “boring.” Many conservatives believe that part of Smith’s purpose for giving testimony was to try correcting what he sees as mischaracterizations of the work he did as special counsel.
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