Former special counsel Jack Smith was finally forced to answer questions this week, sitting for hours of closed-door testimony before House lawmakers examining his controversial prosecutions of President Donald Trump.
Smith, the only prosecutor in U.S. history to bring criminal charges against a former president, appeared Wednesday before a House committee for an extended deposition that stretched well into the afternoon. He declined to speak publicly, as did his attorney, prominent Washington lawyer Lanny Breuer.
The appearance came just days after Smith resigned ahead of President Trump’s return to the White House. As cameras lined the hallway outside the hearing room, Smith entered quietly and avoided reporters’ questions. Inside, however, he delivered a prepared opening statement defending his decisions and doubling down on his handling of the Trump investigations.
Smith told lawmakers he would make the same prosecutorial decisions again, regardless of party affiliation.
“If asked whether to prosecute a former president based on the same facts today, I would do so whether that president was a Republican or a Democrat,” Smith claimed.
He argued that his team uncovered sufficient evidence related to efforts surrounding the 2020 election and the events of January 6, assertions that Republicans have repeatedly disputed as politically driven.
Smith alleged that President Trump and others contacted members of Congress in an effort to delay certification of the 2020 election results. Conservatives have countered that those actions were lawful political advocacy, not criminal conduct.
The former special counsel oversaw two major cases against Trump — one involving classified documents and another tied to the 2020 election. Both prosecutions were launched after Trump announced his political comeback, fueling Republican accusations that the Justice Department was being weaponized to interfere with an election.
Smith insisted the indictments were based solely on Trump’s actions. Critics, however, note that the timing placed Trump at risk of spending the rest of his life in prison during the height of a presidential campaign — a move many Republicans labeled as “lawfare.”
President Trump, now 79, has repeatedly accused Smith of acting as a partisan operative rather than an impartial prosecutor. Republican lawmakers echoed those concerns during the deposition, while Democrats largely rushed to Smith’s defense.
Although both Trump and Smith previously expressed interest in making the testimony public, committee leaders chose a closed-door format. That decision has raised concerns about selective leaks shaping public perception without full context.
Democrats on the committee publicly praised Smith following the hearing. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) described him as “a class act,” while accusing Republicans of trying to shield the public from damaging information.
Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) claimed Smith told lawmakers that part of his final report remains unreleased because a federal judge in Florida has not authorized its publication. Goldman criticized the delay and suggested it was unjustified.
Goldman also argued that charges against Trump associates in the Florida documents case should not have been dismissed, even though the Trump Justice Department dropped those cases after Trump returned to office.
Smith was appointed special counsel in November 2022 by then-Attorney General Merrick Garland to oversee Biden-era Justice Department investigations into Trump. Republicans have long questioned Garland’s decision, pointing to Smith’s aggressive prosecutorial history.
Conservatives often cite Smith’s role in prosecuting former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell — a conviction later overturned unanimously by the Supreme Court — as evidence of overreach.
The classified documents case against Trump collapsed in July 2024 when U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon ruled that Smith’s appointment violated constitutional requirements because it lacked proper congressional authorization.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) had pressed for Smith’s testimony for months before issuing a subpoena that ultimately compelled his appearance.
Republicans are also expected to scrutinize Smith over reports that his investigation secretly obtained phone metadata from Republican members of Congress. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) previously released documents showing the FBI’s probe extended broadly across GOP lawmakers and political organizations.
Grassley described the effort as a sweeping “fishing expedition” targeting what he called the Republican political apparatus — reinforcing conservative concerns about government overreach and politicized law enforcement.
For many Trump supporters, Smith’s long-delayed appearance before Congress represents a long-awaited moment of accountability — and a warning about what happens when the justice system is used as a political weapon.