House Judiciary Committee prepares for Jack Smith's public testimony

WASHINGTON, DC: Former Special Counsel Jack Smith is expected to testify publicly before Congress in the coming weeks, setting up a high-profile confrontation between House Republicans and the prosecutor who led two federal criminal cases against President Donald Trump.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) confirmed on Friday, January 9, that he planned to invite Smith to appear in an open hearing “as soon as this month.”

“He’s coming in,” Jordan told Politico, signaling a shift from the committee’s earlier insistence on closed-door testimony.

The announcement followed Smith’s nine-hour private deposition last month, conducted under subpoena.

The transcript of that session was released by Jordan on New Year’s Eve and now appears to be the foundation for a public hearing focused on the origins, conduct, and conclusions of Smith’s investigations.

Jack Smith's team signals openness to public questioning

Smith’s legal team responded quickly, saying the former special counsel had consistently favored public testimony. Lanny Breuer, one of Smith’s attorneys, said in a statement that his client had never sought to avoid scrutiny.

“Jack has been clear for months that 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 handling of classified documents,” Breuer said.

According to Breuer, Smith previously offered to testify publicly before both the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, a step taken by past special counsels, but the House panel initially opted for a private interview instead.

Transcript excerpts likely central to hearing

The upcoming hearing is expected to revisit several statements Smith made during the closed-door deposition.

In the released transcript, Smith defended the legal basis of his prosecutions and rejected claims that the Biden White House directed or influenced his work.

“The evidence here made clear that President Trump was by a large measure the most culpable and most responsible person in this conspiracy,” Smith said during the deposition.

He added that the crimes charged in the election interference case were committed “for his benefit” and that the events of January 6 “do not happen without him.”

Smith also told lawmakers that his office had developed evidence supporting potential charges against additional individuals in the election case, but those decisions were overtaken by events after Trump won the 2024 election, which ultimately ended the prosecutions.

Republicans focus on January 6 violence evidence

Jordan said Republicans intended to use the public hearing to press Smith on what they viewed as key weaknesses in his cases, particularly the issue of direct responsibility for violence at the US Capitol.

“One of the key takeaways in the transcript is that when we asked whether he had any evidence that President Trump was responsible for the violence that took place at the Capitol, he had no evidence of that whatsoever,” Jordan said.

During the deposition, Smith acknowledged that his office did not allege that Trump directly ordered rioters to storm the Capitol.

Instead, Smith said that the evidence showed Trump fostered distrust in the election system by promoting claims of fraud that were not supported by facts.

Republicans are also expected to question Smith about his office’s efforts to obtain phone records connected to Republican lawmakers.

Democrats say private deposition strategy failed

Democrats on the committee argued the decision to hold a public hearing reflected frustration with the outcome of the closed-door session. Rep Jamie Raskin (D-MD), the panel’s ranking member, said Republicans failed to undermine Smith during the private testimony.

“After Republicans forced Jack Smith into a backroom interrogation and rejected calls for an open public hearing, now they want a public hearing after all,” Raskin said. He described the shift as evidence that the earlier strategy did not produce damaging revelations.

Raskin said Democrats expect the public hearing to again highlight Smith’s explanations of his investigative decisions, even as Republicans seek to challenge them under oath.