Former special counsel Jack Smith defended his investigation into President Donald Trump in a U.S. Senate hearing, but Republican lawmakers accused him of abuse of power.
On Tuesday, Smith told the Senate Judiciary Committee that his investigation follows Justice Department policy and is based on evidence.
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He denied accusations that political considerations influenced his decision to bring criminal charges against Trump, the first US president.
“Our investigation has produced evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in serious crimes against our country,” Smith said.
Smith, a former war crimes prosecutor in The Hague, was appointed special counsel in 2022 to independently investigate allegations about Trump’s actions after the end of his first term as president.
In 2023, Mr. Smith ultimately filed two criminal charges against Mr. Trump. The first charge was for attempting to subvert the 2020 presidential election, and the second charge was for handling classified documents while in office.
Separately, two additional criminal charges were filed against Trump. In New York, Trump was accused of falsifying business records to hide unwanted information during the 2016 presidential campaign.
The second case also involved allegations that Trump and his allies were trying to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia.
Only one case (a New York state indictment) went to trial and resulted in a felony conviction. The rest will be repealed after Trump is re-elected in 2024.
Smith himself resigned shortly before Trump’s second inauguration in January 2025. The Department of Justice has a policy of not prosecuting sitting presidents.
President Trump has denied all charges against him and accused Smith and former President Joe Biden of orchestrating a political “witch hunt” against him.
Republicans focused much of Tuesday’s hearing on Smith’s investigative methods, including subpoenas for phone records related to members of Congress and financial information from Republican donors and organizations.
Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley accused Smith’s team of using the investigation to “plan and target the entire Republican Party.”
But Smith argued his office had a duty to pursue evidence relevant to the investigation.
He also defended obtaining phone records from lawmakers. He said the records help corroborate evidence that President Trump and his allies contacted members of Congress as they sought to delay the certification of the 2020 election results.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, whose records were also included in the search, pressed Smith about why lawmakers were not notified of the subpoena. Smith said that if the subpoenas are made public, prosecutors fear that Trump and his associates will destroy evidence or obstruct the investigation.
“Is it a crime to be a Republican?” Cruz asked.
“Absolutely not,” Smith said.
Smith added that his office consulted the Department of Justice’s Public Integrity Section before obtaining the records.
The information requested by Smith revealed the time and duration of the call, but not its content. Critics say there was no law prohibiting seeking such records during the Smith investigation.
In his testimony, Smith not only defended his decision to investigate, but also accused the Trump administration of retaliating against prosecutors and investigators who worked on the two cases.
He claimed the former team members were fired for “doing their job.” These dismissals prompted legal challenges.
In March, three former FBI agents investigating President Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election filed a class action lawsuit alleging they were wrongfully fired as part of a “retaliation campaign.” The lawsuit seeks their reinstatement.
Mr. Smith said Mr. Trump had threatened to imprison him and framed the scrutiny of his performance as part of a broader challenge to the Justice Department’s independence.
“As I stand before you today, I believe that the rule of law faces challenges unlike any we have seen in our lifetimes,” Smith said. “I will not be silenced by continued threats of prosecution from the president and others.”
