Jack Smith appeared before members of Congress for the third time since President Trump's second term began, facing another round of intense questioning.
Jack Smith appeared before members of Congress for the third time since President Donald Trump's second term began, facing another round of intense questioning from Republicans who argue his previous prosecutions of the president were politically motivated from the start.
"Mr. Smith's operation was a partisan weapon that broke the rules, lied to the court and engaged in bad faith throughout his operation, has no credibility only to the partisan media and Democrats who cheered him on," said Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.
Smith, the former special counsel, brought two indictments against Trump during his time out of office — one related to the mishandling of classified documents, and another tied to Trump's alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Smith defended the integrity of both investigations during Thursday's hearing.
"Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in serious crimes against our nation," Smith said. "If asked whether to prosecute a former president today based on the same facts, I would do so regardless of whether that president was a Republican or a Democrat."
Much of the Republican criticism centered on an aspect of the investigation known as Arctic Frost, which involved lawfully obtaining phone records and text messages from some members of Congress as part of an effort to identify potential links to the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. That element of the probe has drawn particularly sharp reactions from GOP lawmakers.
"Anybody who knows a law book from a J.Crew catalog knows that this violates the Constitution... you make me want to throw up in my mouth," said Sen. John Kennedy, R-La.
Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., was similarly blunt.
You have weaponized the Department of Justice against political enemies to an extent that has never happened in the history of this country. You will go down as a total dirtbag.
Schmitt was also involved in the seemingly most viral moment to come out of the hearing. The Senator had accused Smith of perjuring himself, saying he had text messages that suggested Smith had traveled to Atlanta to see an NBA game featuring the Atlanta Hawks and Golden State Warriors in February of 2024 during the same time period when Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis had just recently admitted to an affair with Nathan Wade - a special prosecutor investigating Trump for his role in trying to allegedly interfere in Georgia's 2020 election results. The exchange turned confusing when Schmitt's argument fell apart after Smith told the Senator he had no recollection of going to a Hawks game, and instead had gone to the University of Maryland to watch their women's team play the then Caitlin Clark-led Iowa Hawkeyes.
Smith has remained a frequent target of the president and his allies even after both cases were dropped following Trump's 2024 election win and Smith's subsequent resignation from the Department of Justice. Despite the continued pressure, Smith pushed back on efforts to intimidate him into silence.
"I will not be silenced by continued threats of prosecution from the president or others," he said.
The hearing comes after Attorney General Todd Blanche told Congress over the summer that the Justice Department was actively investigating potential criminal charges against Smith. House Republicans have already filed a criminal referral against the former special counsel, adding further legal uncertainty to a situation that shows no signs of cooling down as both sides continue to clash over the legacy of Smith's investigations into the sitting president.
