Jack Smith Defends Trump Cases as GOP Hearing Turns Personal

Former special counsel Jack Smith told senators he stands by his Trump prosecutions, as a Republican perjury claim collapsed over a Hawks-Hawkeyes mix-up.

Former special counsel Jack Smith testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, defending his decision to bring two since-dismissed federal criminal cases against Donald Trump over efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the retention of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. Smith said in his opening statement that his investigation "developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in serious crimes against our nation," and that a subject's "status, power, prominence or political affiliation must play no role" in prosecutorial decisions. Both cases were abandoned after Trump's 2024 election win, citing Justice Department opinions that sitting presidents cannot be federally indicted.

Rather than a routine oversight session, the hearing devolved into partisan sniping and name-calling. According to NBC News, Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy opened his questioning by asking Smith what the word "arrogant" means, asked whether he believed in the tooth fairy and the Easter Bunny, and closed by telling Smith, "You make me want to throw up in my mouth." Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt called Smith a "dirtbag" and a "villain." Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley asserted that Smith misused his investigative powers and said the Smith election case "was about partisan agents and prosecutors mapping out the Republican apparatus."

Schmitt accused Smith of perjury, suggesting he had attended an Atlanta Hawks NBA game in February 2024 while Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis faced scrutiny in her Georgia election case against Trump. Smith denied traveling to Atlanta, and The Los Angeles Times reports he had actually attended an Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball game — Caitlin Clark's team — at the University of Maryland. Sen. Amy Klobuchar chided Schmitt: "Could it then be that the University of Iowa is the Hawkeyes? ... Perhaps you should have looked at it more carefully." Schmitt still did not apologize, and Klobuchar said he owed Smith one.

Much of the hearing focused on subpoenas Smith's team issued for the toll records of Republican members of Congress contacted by Trump or his aides on Jan. 6, 2021. Smith said such subpoenas are common practice and were necessary to understand the "scope of the conspiracy," and that they provided corroborating evidence Trump and alleged co-conspirators sought to exploit the Capitol violence to delay certification of Biden's win. Toll records show call timing and duration but not content. Smith said he received approval from the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section, and Democrats noted the first Trump administration had similarly sought lawmakers' records during an investigation.

Smith remains a top retribution target. Rep. Jim Jordan referred him to the Justice Department in July over allegations he lied in earlier testimony about the records collection — claims Smith's lawyers call false, saying he gave "truthful, responsive answers." According to NBC News, former federal prosecutors say the department would have a tough time bringing a perjury case against Smith. The Trump administration has also launched a so-called "grand conspiracy" investigation into law enforcement officials dating to 2016, purged FBI and DOJ officials tied to past Trump investigations, and is reportedly examining the August 2022 Mar-a-Lago search, per defense attorneys cited by NBC News.

Smith said he "will not be silenced by continued threats of prosecution from the president or others," and has previously predicted the administration would try to bring a criminal case against him. He did not discuss the classified documents probe because Judge Aileen Cannon ordered that portion of his report withheld, and the Justice Department says answering questions about it would violate her order. Democrats, led by Sen. Dick Durbin, framed the GOP attacks as a "smoke screen to distract from the president's own clear, unlawful conduct," while Sen. Cory Booker called the effort "an eight-year attempt to lie to the American people" ahead of the midterms.