Jack Smith Defends Prosecuting Trump Over His ‘Criminal Scheme’ to Steal an Election
The former special counsel says his team ‘developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt’ that Trump broke the law in trying to overturn the 2020 election.
Former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith told lawmakers on Wednesday that his team “developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt” that President Donald 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 that he would prosecute a former president again “based on the same facts today,” no matter what political party the president belongs to, according to portions of his opening statement obtained by several news outlets. Smith spoke in a closed-door hearing before the House Judiciary Committee, whose chair, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), subpoenaed Smith to testify about his prosecution of Trump.
The former special counsel’s remarks and closed-door deposition comes as Trump and Republicans have made it a key policy priority to make the president look like a victim of malicious prosecutions by Democrats. They’re also trying to rewrite history – regarding both his election loss, which Trump continues to falsely insist he won, and what happened on Jan. 6, 2021, when Trump’s supporters violently stormed the US Capitol to try to help him lead a coup.
Republicans have claimed Smith withheld “relevant impeachment records” from Trump’s defense team. Trump, for his part, has called for Smith to be “investigated and put in prison,” calling him “deranged” and a “criminal.” On Wednesday, the president claimed to support the notion of an open hearing: “I’d rather see him testify publicly. There’s no way he can answer the questions.” Smith offered to testify in an open hearing; Jordan rejected that idea.
Smith led two federal prosecutions against Trump during the Biden administration: one for attempting to steal the 2020 election, and a second case for refusing to return hundreds of classified documents to the government after leaving office. Trump was indicted in both cases but neither ultimately went to trial, thanks to the actions of conservative judges whom Trump appointed.
The classified documents case was dismissed in Florida by Trump appointee Aileen Cannon, perhaps the president’s favorite judge, who ruled that Smith was unlawfully appointed. (Trump has demanded the Justice Department pay him $100 million in damages over the documents case.)
The other case revolved around Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to Joe Biden. Those efforts culminated in the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riot, when Trump’s supporters tried to block the results from being certified.
The conservative-dominated Supreme Court – where Trump appointed three of the court’s six far-right justices – stalled Smith’s election subversion case before giving Trump a massive gift: sweeping immunity from criminal prosecution. Smith dropped the election case before Trump took office, citing the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling.
Smith maintains both cases were strong enough to secure convictions.
“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 said.
Earlier this year, Republicans learned that Smith’s investigation had obtained phone records of nine lawmakers involved in Trump’s attempt to block the electoral count on Jan. 6, angering the MAGA coalition – and leading senators to pass legislation that would allow them to collect hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of dollars as compensation for having their privacy violated.
On Wednesday, Smith defended his investigation, saying the records were “lawfully subpoenaed” and relevant to the probe.
“January 6 was an attack on the structure of our democracy in which over 100 heroic law enforcement officers were assaulted,” Smith said. “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. I didn’t choose those members; President Trump did.”
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