WASHINGTON — Former special counsel Jack Smith told lawmakers on Capitol Hill that President Donald Trump himself is responsible for the criminal indictments against him relating to the Jan. 6 insurrection and his possession of classified documents.
Republicans hauled Smith in for a closed-door deposition as part of their yearslong effort to downplay the president’s actions and portray the cases against him as a purely political witch hunt.
“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 told lawmakers, according to excerpts of his opening remarks obtained by HuffPost.
Smith led a team that won grand jury indictments against Trump for trying to overthrow the 2020 election result, for hoarding classified documents after leaving the White House and for obstructing justice in an attempt to hide the material from investigators. He had offered to testify in public, but House Republicans opted for private testimony.
“Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and to prevent the lawful transfer of power,” Smith said. “Our investigation also developed powerful evidence that showed President Trump willfully retained highly classified documents after he left office in January 2021, storing them at his social club, including in a bathroom and a ballroom where events and gatherings took place.”
House Judiciary Committee chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who had summoned Smith with a subpoena, declined to say anything about the interview, citing committee rules against speaking about the proceedings. He also declined to talk about why he’d brought Smith to the Hill, except to say, “We got questions for him.”
Democrats said Smith came prepared and that he skillfully answered Republicans’ questions.
“Chairman Jordan made an excellent decision in not allowing Jack Smith to testify publicly, because had he done so, it would have been absolutely devastating to the president and all the president’s men involved in the insurrectionary activities of January the 6th,” Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the committee’s top Democrat, told reporters.
Trump has previously called for Smith to be prosecuted, and the Trump Justice Department has sought charges against state and federal officials Trump considers his political enemies.
“Unreasonable Search and Seizure!!! That was the FBI’s CRIMINAL RAID on Mar-a-Lago,” Trump said on his website Wednesday. “This can never be allowed to happen again!!!”
Republicans in Congress have focused on Smith’s team obtaining phone records of several Republican lawmakers as part of his investigation into Trump’s efforts to undo the 2020 election, which included trying to coerce state officials into fabricating vote results and sending a riotous mob to the U.S. Capitol as Congress certified the election results.
“Jack Smith tampered with evidence, surveilled sitting members of Congress and waged unprecedented lawfare against President Trump,” Jordan said in October.
In his opening remarks, Smith explained why he obtained phone records, pointing out Trump had contacted lawmakers during the mob attack.
“Exploiting that violence, President Trump and his associates tried to call members of Congress in furtherance of their criminal scheme, urging them to further delay certification of the 2020 election,” Smith said. “I didn’t choose those members; President Trump did.”