Ex-Justice Department special counsel Smith will testify publicly about his Trump investigations

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith is set to testify publicly next week about his investigations into President Donald Trump that resulted in two indictments.

Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the Republican chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said in a Fox News Channel interview on Monday night that Smith would appear before the panel on Jan. 22, and a spokesman for Smith on Tuesday confirmed the committee hearing.

“He'll be a tough witness, but we're going to present the facts, and I think, frankly, we're going to show that Jack Smith was part of this bigger effort” to bring down Trump, Jordan said.

Smith has already testified behind closed doors before the committee. A transcript released of that private deposition shows that Smith told lawmakers last month that the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol “does not happen” without Trump, and he vigorously pushed back at the suggestion that his investigations were meant to prevent Trump from reclaiming the presidency in 2024.

“So in terms of why we would pursue a case against him, I entirely disagree with any characterization that our work was in any way meant to hamper him in the presidential election,” Smith said, according to the transcript.

Smith was appointed special counsel in November 2022 by then-Attorney General Merrick Garland.

He led investigations into Trump’s hoarding of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, and his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election after the Republican president lost to Democrat Joe Biden. Both investigations resulted in indictments that were abandoned after Trump’s November 2024 presidential election win, with Smith citing Justice Department legal opinions that bar the indictment of a sitting president.

One of Smith's lawyers, Lanny Breuer, said in a statement last week as a public hearing was being discussed: “Jack has been clear for months he is ready and willing to answer questions in a public hearing about his investigations into President Trump’s alleged unlawful efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his mishandling of classified documents.”

Trump has denied any wrongdoing and said the Justice Department was weaponized against him as he was pursuing a return to the White House.

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