Jack Smith defends Trump investigations to House Republicans : NPR
Former special counsel Jack Smith defended his investigations into President Trump for more than four hours Thursday, saying he followed the facts and the law and was not motivated by politics.
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
We begin with the first public testimony from former Justice Department Special Counsel Jack Smith regarding his investigations of President Trump. For more than four hours, Smith defended his work, which he said respected the facts and the law. NPR justice correspondent Ryan Lucas reports.
RYAN LUCAS, BYLINE: In his appearance before the House Judiciary Committee, Jack Smith made clear that he stands by his decision to file charges against President Trump, and he rejected any allegations that his work was motivated by politics.
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JACK SMITH: I made my decisions without regard to President Trump’s political association, activities, beliefs, or candidacy in the 2024 election.
LUCAS: Smith’s team has filed two lawsuits against Trump – one for allegedly trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election and another for allegedly hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago home.
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SMITH: Our investigation found proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in criminal activity. 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.
LUCAS: No one, Smith said, should be above the law, and the law requires that President Trump be held accountable. Smith was unable to go into detail in Volume 2 of his report, the section on the investigation of classified documents, due to a standing court order. On Capitol Hill, support for Smith has long spanned party lines, and that was on display during Thursday’s hearing. Democrats have expressed strong support for Smith and his investigations, while Republicans attack Smith as a partisan actor and say he targeted Trump for political reasons. Here’s the leading Republican on the panel, Jim Jordan of Ohio.
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JIM JORDAN: It was always about politics. And to get President Trump, they were willing to do just about anything.
LUCAS: President Trump was not present, but he appeared to be monitoring the hearing. In a social media post during the proceedings, Trump called Smith a deranged animal who should not be able to practice law, and Trump optimistically said that Attorney General Pam Bondi was investigating Smith. When asked if he thought Trump’s Justice Department would find a way to charge him, Smith had this to say.
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SMITH: I believe they will do everything in their power to achieve this because the president has ordered them to do so.
LUCAS: Still, Smith said he won’t be intimidated, and his only regret, he said, is not expressing enough appreciation for the prosecutors and FBI agents he worked with, many of whom were fired by the Trump administration. Ryan Lucas, NPR News, Washington.
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