Jack Smith says Trump ‘willfully’ broke the law, blasts DOJ ‘retribution’ in second term

Former special counsel prosecutor Jack Smith vigorously defended the decisions he made in investigating President Donald Trump after his first term in office, telling members of the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday that his team of prosecutors had uncovered “proof beyond a reasonable doubt” that Trump had engaged in criminal activity.

“Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in criminal activity,” Smith said. “If asked whether to prosecute a former president based on the same facts today, I would do so— regardless of whether that president was a Republican or a Democrat,” Smith said. 

Smith testified publicly for the first time Thursday about the dual special counsel investigation he led looking into Trump’s alleged effort to subvert the 2020 election and Trump’s alleged retention of certain classified documents. 

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Smith brought charges against Trump in both cases, but they were ultimately dropped after Trump’s re-election, in keeping with long-standing Justice Department guidance.

Smith resigned shortly after Trump’s election to a second term in 2024.

But Smith said Thursday that he had no second thoughts about the actions he took as special counsel, stressing that he had acted without regard to politics during the course of the probe, and in keeping with long-standing Justice Department policies.

The hearing became acrimonious at times, as House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and other Republicans grilled Smith over certain decisions he made.

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One area of focus was his decision to access so-called “tolling records” of certain Republican lawmakers during the probe. Unlike wiretaps, tolling records are phone logs that reveal the phone numbers of incoming and outgoing callers, as well as the time and duration of calls. 

Republicans honed in on this detail Thursday, blasting the actions as “political weaponization.” Smith, for his part, defended the tolling records as “common practice” in such investigations.   

Smith previously said the Public Integrity Section had signed off on the subpoenas, a point corroborated by previously released public records.

Other Republicans assailed Smith’s actions as “overly aggressive” and beyond the scope of his authority. 

Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., meanwhile, blasted Smith for what he described as his overly aggressive posture, and for seeking the “maximum litigation advantage at every turn.” He chastised Smith at one point for “repeatedly circumventing constitutional limitations, to the point that you had to be reined in again, and again, throughout the process.”

Trump, in Davos, also weighed in prior to the hearing.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum, Trump said “everybody now knows that” the 2020 election was “rigged,” and vowed that “people will soon be prosecuted for what they did.” He did not immediately elaborate.

Still, Smith sought to impart on the panel his belief that the special counsel prosecutors had built a strong case against Trump. 

“We observed legal requirements and took actions based on the facts and the law,” Smith said, saying the decisions were made “without regard to President Trump’s political association.”

He also lamented the ousting of FBI agents and Justice Department officials, including members of the special counsel who he said have been fired or unfairly targeted in Trump’s first year back in office.

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Trump, he said, “has sought to seek revenge against career prosecutors, FBI agents and support staff simply for having worked on these cases.”

“To vilify and seek retribution against these people is wrong,” Smith said. “Those dedicated public servants are the best of us, and it has been a privilege to serve with them.”

Thousands of FBI personnel in February were forced to fill out a sprawling questionnaire asking employees detailed questions about any role they may have played in the investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riots — ranging from whether they had testified in any criminal trials to when they last participated in investigation-related activity. 

In the months since, a handful of personnel involved in the Jan. 6 investigations have been abruptly fired as part of an effort that individuals familiar with the action described to Fox News as an act of “retaliation.” 

The Justice Department also fired individuals who worked with Smith on the special counsel investigations, as Smith noted Thursday.

“In my opinion, these people are the best of public servants, our country owes them a debt of gratitude, and we are all less safe because many of these experienced and dedicated law enforcement professionals have been fired,” he said.