Former US special counsel Jack Smith delivered a robust defence of his criminal investigations into Donald Trump during a closed-door deposition before the House of Representatives on Wednesday, asserting the cases were founded solely on the former president's conduct.
Private Testimony Amid Political Tensions
Smith appeared before the Republican-controlled House judiciary committee on 17 December 2025 in the Rayburn House office building in Washington DC. His testimony came after he was subpoenaed by the committee's Republican chair, Jim Jordan of Ohio, who insisted on a private deposition. Smith had initially requested a public hearing.
Republican lawmakers, who have spent months seeking to discredit the probes, intended the session to bolster Trump's claims of a politicised justice system. "This was political. This was about going after the Republican Party and most importantly it was about going after our candidate for president, President Trump," Jordan stated in a television interview.
Basis of the Cases and Their Dismissal
In his opening statement, excerpts of which were obtained by Reuters, Smith told lawmakers that the foundation for the prosecutions "rests entirely with President Trump and his actions." He secured indictments in 2023 on two major fronts:
- Illegally retaining classified documents after leaving the White House.
- Conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Smith dropped both cases after Trump won the 2024 election, citing a longstanding justice department policy against prosecuting a sitting president. However, he emphasised his commitment to the rule of law, stating, "If asked whether to prosecute a former president based on the same facts today, I would do so regardless of whether the president was a Republican or Democrat."
Democratic Criticism and Republican Outrage
Democratic members of the committee criticised the decision to hold the testimony in private. Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the panel's top Democrat, argued a public hearing would have been "absolutely devastating to the president" and said Smith answered every question satisfactorily.
Another Democrat, Pramila Jayapal of Washington, revealed that Smith told the committee Trump's efforts to subvert the 2020 election, which culminated in the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, could have had "catastrophic" consequences for American democracy.
Republican fury has focused on recent disclosures that investigators, as part of the election interference probe, gathered information from various conservative groups and obtained limited cell phone data from eight Republican senators around the time of the Capitol riot. Trump allies cite this as evidence of an overzealous, politically motivated investigation.
Smith countered these claims, insisting his team adhered strictly to justice department protocols and that their focus was dictated by evidence. "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," Smith said. "I didn't choose those Members; President Trump did."
