Jack Smith defends investigations into Trump during tense US Senate hearing

Former US special counsel rejects claims that his probes improperly targeted Republicans and conservative groups.

Former US Special Counsel Jack Smith testifies during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on September 29 [AFP]

Former Special Counsel Jack Smith has defended his investigations of President Donald Trump in a United States Senate hearing, though Republican lawmakers accused him of abusing his authority.

On Tuesday, Smith told the Senate Judiciary Committee that his investigations followed Justice Department policy and were based on evidence.

list 1 of 3 FBI agents who investigated Trump file lawsuit alleging retaliatory firing

list 2 of 3 Key takeaways from Donald Trump’s controversial speech on election security

list 3 of 3 US intelligence director pick refuses to acknowledge Trump loss in 2020

He rejected accusations that political considerations influenced his decision to bring criminal charges against Trump, the first US president ever to be indicted.

“Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in serious crimes against our nation,” Smith said.

A former war crimes prosecutor at The Hague, Smith was appointed special counsel in 2022 to independently investigate allegations about Trump’s behaviour after the end of his first term as president.

In 2023, Smith ultimately brought two criminal indictments against Trump: one for his alleged attempts to subvert the 2020 presidential election and a second for his handling of classified documents while out of office.

Separately, two further criminal indictments were brought against Trump. One, in New York, accused Trump of falsifying business records to conceal unflattering information during his 2016 presidential campaign.

A second, in Georgia, also concerned allegations that Trump and his allies sought to overturn the 2020 election results.

Only one case – the New York indictment – was brought to trial, resulting in felony convictions. The rest were dropped after Trump was re-elected in 2024.

Smith himself resigned shortly before Trump’s second inauguration in January 2025. The Justice Department has a policy of not prosecuting sitting presidents.

Trump has denied all the charges against him and has 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 that obtained phone records associated with members of Congress and financial information from Republican donors and organisations.

Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley accused Smith’s team of using its investigations to “map out and target the entire Republican Party”.

Smith, however, maintained that his office had a duty to pursue evidence relevant to the investigation.

He also defended obtaining phone records from lawmakers. He said the records helped corroborate evidence that Trump and his allies contacted members of Congress as they sought to delay certification of the 2020 election results.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz, whose records were among those sought, pressed Smith about why lawmakers were not notified of the subpoenas. Smith said prosecutors feared Trump and his associates could destroy evidence or interfere with the investigation if the subpoenas were disclosed.

“Is it a crime to be a Republican?” Cruz asked.

“Absolutely not,” Smith said.

Smith added that his office consulted the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section before obtaining the records.

The information Smith sought reveals the time and duration of the telephone calls but not their content. Critics have pointed out that there was no law against seeking such records during the course of Smith’s investigation.

During his testimony, Smith not only defended his investigative decisions but also accused the Trump administration of retaliating against the prosecutors and agents who worked on the two cases.

He argued that members of his former team had been fired for “doing their jobs”. Those firings have prompted legal challenges.

In March, three former agents with the FBI who investigated Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election filed a class-action lawsuit alleging they were illegally terminated as part of a “retribution campaign”. The lawsuit seeks their reinstatement.

Smith, who said Trump has threatened him with jail, framed the scrutiny of his work as part of a broader challenge to the independence of the Justice Department.

“As I appear before you today, it is my belief that the rule of law faces challenges unlike any we have experienced in our lifetime,” Smith said. “I will not be silenced by continued threats of prosecution from the president or others.”

美国前特别检察官否认其调查不当针对共和党人和保守派团体的说法。

9月29日，美国前特别检察官杰克·史密斯在华盛顿特区国会山举行的参议院司法委员会听证会上作证。[法新社]

前特别检察官杰克·史密斯在美国参议院听证会上为他对唐纳德·特朗普总统的调查进行了辩护，尽管共和党议员指责他滥用职权。

周二，史密斯告诉参议院司法委员会，他的调查遵循司法部政策，并以证据为基础。

调查特朗普的三名联邦调查局特工中，有一名提起诉讼，指控遭到报复性解雇。

唐纳德·特朗普关于选举安全的争议性演讲要点之二（共三点）

美国情报总监候选人名单之三（共三人）拒绝承认特朗普在2020年败选

他否认了有关政治因素影响了他对特朗普提起刑事诉讼的决定的指控，特朗普是美国历史上第一位被起诉的总统。

史密斯说：“我们的调查已得出确凿证据，证明特朗普总统犯下了危害我们国家的严重罪行。”

史密斯曾任海牙国际刑事法院战争罪检察官，于 2022 年被任命为特别检察官，负责独立调查有关特朗普在其第一任总统任期结束后行为的指控。

2023 年，史密斯最终对特朗普提出了两项​​刑事指控：一项指控他试图颠覆 2020 年总统选举，另一项指控他在卸任期间处理机密文件。

此外，特朗普还面临另外两项刑事起诉。其中一项在纽约，指控特朗普在2016年总统竞选期间伪造商业记录以掩盖不利信息。

第二起案件发生在佐治亚州，也涉及特朗普及其盟友试图推翻 2020 年大选结果的指控。

只有一起案件——纽约的起诉书——被提交审判，并最终被判犯有重罪。其余案件在特朗普2024年连任后都被撤销了。

史密斯本人在特朗普2025年1月第二次就职典礼前不久辞职。司法部奉行不起诉在任总统的政策。

特朗普否认了所有针对他的指控，并指责史密斯和前总统乔·拜登策划了一场针对他的政治“猎巫”行动。

周二的听证会上，共和党人将大部分精力集中在史密斯的调查方法上，包括通过传票获取与国会议员有关的电话记录以及来自共和党捐助者和组织的财务信息。

委员会主席查克·格拉斯利指责史密斯的团队利用调查“绘制并针对整个共和党”。

然而，史密斯坚持认为，他的办公室有责任追查与调查相关的证据。

他还为获取议员电话记录辩护。他说，这些记录有助于证实特朗普及其盟友曾联系国会议员，试图拖延2020年大选结果的认证。

德克萨斯州参议员特德·克鲁兹的记录也在被要求调取的范围内，他质问史密斯为何没有通知议员们收到传票。史密斯表示，检方担心如果传票公开，特朗普及其同伙可能会销毁证据或干扰调查。

“成为共和党人是犯罪吗？”克鲁兹问道。

“绝对不行，”史密斯说。

史密斯补充说，他的办公室在获取这些记录之前咨询了司法部的公共诚信部门。

史密斯所寻求的信息揭示了电话通话的时间和时长，但并未揭示通话内容。批评人士指出，在史密斯的调查过程中，并没有法律禁止他索取此类记录。

在作证期间，史密斯不仅为自己的调查决定辩护，还指责特朗普政府对参与这两起案件的检察官和特工进行报复。

他辩称，他前团队的成员因为“履行职责”而被解雇。这些解雇事件引发了法律诉讼。

今年3月，三名曾调查特朗普试图推翻2020年大选结果的前联邦调查局特工提起集体诉讼，声称他们因“报复行动”而被非法解雇。该诉讼要求恢复他们的职务。

史密斯表示，特朗普曾威胁要将他送进监狱，他将对他的工作的审查视为对司法部独立性的更广泛挑战的一部分。

“今天我站在你们面前，我认为法治正面临着我们一生中前所未有的挑战，”史密斯说。“我不会因为总统或其他人的持续起诉威胁而保持沉默。”