Republicans are investigating Smith’s investigation into Trump, which resulted in two charges.
Published December 3, 2025
The Republican-led House Judiciary Committee has subpoenaed former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith, who led two federal prosecutions of President Donald Trump.
Wednesday’s announcement came even though Smith had previously volunteered to attend a public meeting with the Republican-led committee investigating the charges against Trump.
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“Due to your service as special counsel, the committee believes you have information essential to its oversight of this matter,” Republican Jim Jordan, the committee chairman, said in a letter to Smith.
Jordan asked Smith to provide records for the committee in addition to his testimony. Smith was called for a private interview later this month.
One of the federal charges led by Mr. Smith was related to Mr. Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and his actions when his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
The second involved the hoarding of classified documents at a Florida resort.
Both lawsuits were dropped after President Trump’s re-election in November 2024. Longstanding Justice Department policy prohibits prosecuting a sitting president.
President Trump has portrayed the indictments as part of an organized “witch hunt” that is politically motivated.
One of Smith’s attorneys, Peter Kosky, criticized the private nature of the planned deposition in a statement.
“I am disappointed that the offer was rejected and that the American people were not given the opportunity to hear directly from Jack on these topics,” Kosky said.
“Jack looks forward to meeting the committee later this month to discuss his work and clarify various misconceptions about his investigation.”
In recent weeks, Republicans in Congress have focused on revelations that Mr. Smith’s team was analyzing phone records of some members of Congress before and after the January 6 riot.
Mr. Smith’s legal team maintains records showing only basic information about incoming and outgoing calls (time, date, length of call), not the content of the phone conversations.
“Mr. Smith’s actions as special counsel were consistent with the decisions of a prosecutor who has dedicated his career to following the facts and the law without fear or favor and without regard for political influence,” Smith’s lawyers wrote to lawmakers in October.
“His investigative decisions were similarly motivated, and the fee records subpoena was entirely appropriate, legal, and consistent with established Department of Justice policy. As expected, Mr. Smith’s prosecution of President Trump has been politicized by others, but politics never influenced his decision-making,” they added.
Asked about the subpoena during a press conference in the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump repeated his attacks on Smith, calling him a “sick man.”
Still, Trump added, “I’d rather he testify publicly because he can’t answer questions.”
