Jack Smith Makes Four Big Admissions In Fiery Public Hearing
Former special counsel Jack Smith made major admissions during his public testimony Thursday, including about the credibility of former Trump aide Cassidy Hutchinson as a witness.
Republicans questioned Smith about everything from the search warrants he obtained for members of Congress’ phone records to his litigation decisions, while Democrats told Smith he “did everything right.”
Smith obtained two indictments charging President Donald Trump with alleged interference in the 2020 election and alleged mishandling of classified documents. Despite his best efforts to secure a trial before the election, he was forced to drop both cases after Trump’s 2024 victory.
“If I were asked today whether to prosecute a former president based on the same facts, I would do so whether that president was a Democrat or a Republican,” Smith said. “No one should be above the law in this country and the law required that they [Trump] be held responsible. »
1. Cassidy Hutchinson was not excluded as a witness.
Smith admitted Thursday and in a previous closed-door deposition that parts of Hutchinson’s testimony were based on “hearsay.” Hutchinson, a key witness for the Jan. 6 committee, claimed that Trump rushed to grab the steering wheel of his presidential vehicle on Jan. 6 to redirect it toward the Capitol.
However, Smith did not rule out calling her as a witness.
“Were you going to put her on the witness stand if you ever had to go to trial?” » asked Jordan.
“We hadn’t made a final decision as to who we were going to call as a witness,” Smith responded.
“That’s the point,” Jordan said. “You haven’t ruled out using her or putting her on the witness stand, when everyone knows she wasn’t telling the truth. That says it all.”
Exchange between the Rep. @Jim_Jordan and Jack Smith on the stories of former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson. pic.twitter.com/EHfx8AgeY9
-CSPAN (@cspan) January 22, 2026
2. Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy posed no risk justifying hiding subpoenas for his phone records.
In an exchange with Texas Republican Rep. Brandon Gill, Smith agreed that former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was not a “flight risk.” That’s one justification for a nondisclosure order, which Smith obtained to keep secret his nearly three-month-old request for McCarthy’s toll records.
Smith sought toll records, which included “detailed records of incoming and outgoing calls, text messages, direct connections and voice messages” but not the content of those messages, for more than a dozen Republican members of Congress. Verizon complied with the subpoenas, but AT&T did not.
“Sixteen days after becoming the highest-ranking Republican in the House of Representatives, you subpoenaed his toll records,” Gill said. “Do you agree that this could reasonably be considered a violation of the speech or debate clause?”
Smith said no. He emphasized that the risks that lead to obtaining a non-disclosure order “are not necessarily associated with the telephone subscriber, they are the risks of the investigation.”
“As Speaker of the House, I had 24/7 security and the government knew my location at all times,” McCarthy wrote on X. “The risk of flight? Another of Jack Smith’s many lies.”
The judge who approved the nondisclosure order did not have McCarthy’s name, Smith also confirmed.
Jack Smith really thinks former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was a “flight risk.”
Give me a break.
WATCH @RepBrandonGill tear apart Jack Smith, catching him openly lying. pic.twitter.com/ANSSvMsuy7
– House Judiciary GOP 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@JudiciaryGOP) January 22, 2026
3. Smith does not know how much money was paid to confidential human sources.
Jordan asked Smith how much of the $35 million he used to pursue Trump went to paying confidential human sources.
Smith said he did not know the identity of a confidential human source who received $20,000, payment documents the FBI turned over to Congress in early January revealed. FBI Director Kash Patel called the payment “weaponization” on January 10.
“How many other payments were made to this or other sources? » said Jordan.
“As I sit here, I don’t know the answer to that question,” Smith said.
.@Jim_Jordan: “How much of that $35 million in taxpayer money did you give to confidential human sources? We know you gave $20,000 to someone…?”
Jack Smith: “I was the one approving a payment by the FBI to a confidential human source…I don’t know the identity of the source. » pic.twitter.com/Z5Ew5TbgYK
-CSPAN (@cspan) January 22, 2026
4. Smith doesn’t remember who swore the oath to him.
Smith was unable to remember who administered the oath of office to him, which Texas Republican Rep. Lance Gooden said struck him as “strange.”
“Attorney General Garland has asked you to take the oath again,” Gooden said. “Why did he make you do that?”
“As I sit here right now, I don’t remember,” he said. “I know that there is the oath of entry into office that I signed, I believe it was on the 18th, the day of my appointment, and I know that the ministry asked me to make a second one.”
Gooden noted there were “no witnesses” for the first time he was sworn in.
Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the classified documents case in July 2024 after finding that Smith, as a private citizen who was not nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate, was appointed illegally. Former Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Smith on November 18, 2022.
In November 2022, Jack Smith was sworn in as Special Advisor.
Eleven months later, Merrick Garland took a second oath.
Was Jack an illegitimate prosecutor during those first 11 months? Americans deserve to know. pic.twitter.com/BXKdAO26fU
-Lance Gooden (@Lancegooden) January 22, 2026
“Should not be allowed to practice law”
Smith claimed he had “evidence beyond a reasonable doubt” that Trump committed “serious crimes.” He said at one point that he believed Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ) would do “everything in its power” to find a way to charge him.
Trump called Smith on Tuesday “a deranged animal who should not be allowed to practice law.”
“I hope the Attorney General takes a look at what he did, including some of the crooked and corrupt witnesses he was trying to use in his case against me,” he posted on Truth Social.
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