Former special counsel Jack Smith testifies before Senate Judiciary Committee

Former special counsel Jack Smith will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee at 9 a.m. ET. The committee said the hearing will examine his alleged “abuse of authority” and targeting of Republicans.

Smith is expected to be questioned about not divulging that his office had seen the content of members’ text messages sent to White House staffers around the 2020 election and obtained through the White House phones.

Smith has confirmed that his special counsel’s office sought records from phone companies of members of Congress’ call logs — an effort that’s lawful and typical of federal criminal investigations, but which members have heavily criticized.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley also has released several rounds of documents from Smith’s investigation over the past year, accusing him of conducting an improper probe.

"I will not be silenced," Special Counsel Jack Smith will tell Senate panel

Jack Smith, the former special counsel who twice indicted the president, will tell senators on Tuesday that he continues to “stand by” his decision to prosecute Donald Trump.

“If asked whether to prosecute a former President based on the same facts today, I would do so regardless of whether that President was a Republican or a Democrat,” Smith will say, according to a copy of his prepared remarks.

His testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee will address his investigations into Trump’s retention of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago and his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Both cases were dismissed before trial.

Trump has denied wrongdoing and, along with his allies, has portrayed Smith’s investigations as politically motivated. But Smith will reject that characterization, saying the charges “were the result of the evidence.”

Smith will also warn that Trump’s attacks are weakening the justice system. People are “threatened with criminal investigation because they are perceived to have opposed the President,” he will say, and career employees who worked on his investigations were fired because of their “unwavering commitment to the fair and impartial administration of justice.”

“I will not be silenced by the continued threats of prosecution from the President or others,” Smith will say.

Smith appeared before the House Judiciary Committee earlier this year

Al Drago/Getty Images

Former special counsel Jack Smith, who brought two now-defunct criminal cases against President Donald Trump, defended the integrity of his investigation during a combative hearing on January 22 on Capitol Hill.

Making his first public appearance before lawmakers, Smith pushed back against Trump’s claims that he was a crooked prosecutor during a hearing that devolved into a partisan Rorschach test about Trump’s actions after losing the 2020 election.

“I am not a politician, and I have no partisan loyalties,” Smith told the House Judiciary Committee. “My career has been dedicated to serving our country by upholding the rule of law … I stand by my decisions as special counsel, including my decision to bring charges against President Trump.”

While Smith was testifying, Trump called him a “deranged animal” in a social media post, and also said he hopes then-Attorney General Pam Bondi “is looking at” supposed misconduct by Smith because “a big price should be paid.”

More on Smith’s background: From 2022 to 2025, Smith led the special counsel’s office at the Justice Department that investigated Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election, and his potential mishandling of classified government documents.

He eventually filed federal charges against Trump in both investigations. But Smith withdrew both cases after Trump’s 2024 election victory, citing longstanding Justice Department rules against prosecuting a sitting president.

Senate Republicans allege Smith abused authority and targeted GOP members

Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters/File

Former special counsel Jack Smith is scheduled to testify publicly before the Senate Judiciary Committee today — nearly two months after agreeing to appear.

Smith has been under oath on Capitol Hill previously, where he was highly critical of President Donald Trump and defended his investigation fully as within the law and Department of Justice policy. He also has declined to answer specific questions that may divulge grand jury information from his office’s work and sealed details of the Mar-a Lago classified documents case against Trump.

He has also confirmed that his special counsel’s office sought records from phone companies of members of Congress’ call logs — an effort that’s lawful and typical of federal criminal investigations, but which members have heavily criticized. Recently, House Judiciary chairman Jim Jordan asked the DOJ to potentially prosecute Smith for not divulging on the Hill that his office had seen the content of members’ text messages sent to White House staffers around the 2020 election and obtained through the White House phones.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley has also released several rounds of documents from Smith’s investigation over the past year, accusing him of conducting an improper probe and fueling Jordan’s complaint.

Smith and his lawyers maintain he has done nothing wrong, and the Justice Department has levied no charges.

前特别检察官杰克·史密斯将于美国东部时间上午9点在参议院司法委员会作证。委员会表示，此次听证会将审查他涉嫌“滥用职权”和针对共和党人的指控。

预计史密斯将受到质询，因为他没有披露其办公室曾看到议员们在 2020 年大选前后通过白宫电话发送给白宫工作人员的短信内容。

史密斯已证实，他的特别检察官办公室曾向电话公司索取国会议员的通话记录——这一做法合法且是联邦刑事调查的典型做法，但遭到了议员们的强烈批评。

司法委员会主席查克·格拉斯利在过去一年中也公布了多份史密斯调查的文件，指责他进行了不正当的调查。

“我不会保持沉默，”特别检察官杰克·史密斯将对参议院委员会说。

曾两次起诉总统的前特别检察官杰克·史密斯将于周二告诉参议员，他仍然“坚持”起诉唐纳德·特朗普的决定。

根据史密斯事先准备好的讲话稿，他将表示：“如果今天有人问我是否要根据同样的事实起诉一位前总统，无论这位总统是共和党人还是民主党人，我都会这样做。”

他将出席参议院司法委员会的听证会，作证内容将涉及他对特朗普在海湖庄园藏匿机密文件以及试图推翻2020年大选结果的调查。这两起案件均在审判前被驳回。

特朗普否认自己有任何不当行为，并与他的盟友一起，将史密斯的调查描述为出于政治动机。但史密斯将驳斥这种说法，称这些指控“是证据的结果”。

史密斯还将警告说，特朗普的攻击正在削弱司法系统。他将指出，人们“因为被认为反对总统而受到刑事调查的威胁”，而那些参与他调查的职业雇员则因为“坚定不移地致力于公平公​​正地执行司法”而被解雇。

“我不会因为总统或其他人的持续起诉威胁而保持沉默，”史密斯将说道。

史密斯今年早些时候曾出席众议院司法委员会的听证会。

Al Drago/Getty Images

曾对唐纳德·特朗普总统提起两起现已撤销的刑事诉讼的前特别检察官杰克·史密斯，在1月22日国会山举行的一场激烈的听证会上，捍卫了他调查的公正性。

史密斯首次公开露面，在议员面前反驳了特朗普关于他是一名腐败检察官的说法。听证会演变成一场关于特朗普在 2020 年大选失败后所作所为的党派罗夏墨迹测验。

“我不是政客，也没有党派倾向，”史密斯在众议院司法委员会作证时说。“我的职业生涯致力于维护法治，为国家服务……我坚持我作为特别检察官所做的决定，包括对特朗普总统提起诉讼的决定。”

在史密斯作证期间，特朗普在社交媒体上发帖称他为“精神错乱的动物”，并表示他希望当时的司法部长帕姆·邦迪“正在调查”史密斯所谓的渎职行为，因为“应该付出沉重的代价”。

关于史密斯的背景：2022 年至 2025 年，史密斯领导司法部特别检察官办公室，调查特朗普试图推翻 2020 年大选结果以及他可能不当处理机密政府文件的行为。

他最终在两项调查中都对特朗普提起了联邦指控。但特朗普在2024年赢得大选后，史密斯撤回了这两起案件，理由是司法部长期以来有规定，不得起诉在任总统。

参议院共和党人指控史密斯滥用职权，并针对共和党成员。

伊丽莎白·弗兰茨/路透社/档案照片

前特别检察官杰克·史密斯定于今天在参议院司法委员会公开作证——距离他同意出席已近两个月。

史密斯此前曾在国会山宣誓作证，当时他对唐纳德·特朗普总统提出了严厉批评，并完全捍卫其调查，称其符合法律和司法部政策。他还拒绝回答可能泄露其办公室工作中大陪审团信息以及针对特朗普的海湖庄园机密文件案封存细节的具体问题。

他还证实，他的特别检察官办公室曾向电话公司索取国会议员的通话记录——这一做法合法且符合联邦刑事调查的惯例，但遭到了议员们的强烈批评。近日，众议院司法委员会主席吉姆·乔丹要求司法部考虑起诉史密斯，因为他没有向国会披露其办公室曾查看过议员在2020年大选前后通过白宫电话发送给白宫工作人员的短信内容。

司法委员会主席查克·格拉斯利在过去一年中也公布了史密斯调查的多份文件，指责他进行了不当调查，并助长了乔丹的投诉。

史密斯和他的律师坚称他没有做错任何事，司法部也没有对他提出任何指控。