The five-hour session grew particularly sharp when Representative Kevin Kiley (R-CA) asked Smith if he harboured any “regrets.” Smith focused his response on his team rather than his legal decisions
Former Special Counsel Jack Smith delivered a defiant defence of his criminal probes into Donald Trump during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Thursday. In his first public testimony since resigning last year, Smith insisted his actions were devoid of political bias, asserting, “We followed the facts and the law.”
Accountability and “regrets”
The five-hour session grew particularly sharp when Representative Kevin Kiley (R-CA) asked Smith if he harboured any “regrets.” Smith focused his response on his team rather than his legal decisions. “If I have any regret, it would be not expressing enough appreciation for my staff, who worked so hard in these investigations,” Smith said. He noted that his colleagues “sacrificed endlessly and have endured way too much for just doing their jobs. If anything, I wished I would have thanked them…”
Kiley dismissed the sentiment, quipping, “No mistakes. There’s that humility. Mr. Chair, I yield back.”
A deep partisan divide
The hearing highlighted the stark polarisation surrounding the cases. Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) claimed, “It was always about politics,” while Representative Jamie Raskin (D-MD) countered that for Democrats, “it’s all about the rule of law.”
Despite the pressure, Smith stood firmly by his decision to bring charges regarding the 2020 election and the retention of classified documents. He stated that his investigation developed “proof beyond a reasonable doubt” of criminal activity. “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 testified. “No one should be above the law in our country, and the law required that he be held to account.”
The testimony occurred amid what critics describe as a retribution campaign by the current administration. Smith highlighted that several staffers who worked on his team have already been dismissed by the Justice Department.
“In my opinion, these people are the best of public servants,” Smith said, warning that the country is “less safe” following the firing of these professionals. He concluded by reiterating that his team observed all legal requirements, stating, “I will not be intimidated.”
End of Article
