Former special counsel Jack Smith defended his prosecution of Donald Trump on Thursday, accusing him of engaging in a “criminal scheme” to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.Smith, in remarks to the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee, said his team of investigators had “developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in criminal activity.””Rather than accept his defeat in the 2020 presidential election, President Trump engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results and prevent the lawful transfer of power,” Smith told lawmakers.He said his decision to bring charges against Trump were taken “without regard to President Trump’s political association, activities, beliefs, or candidacy in the 2024 presidential election.”Smith was appointed special counsel in 2022, and charged Trump with plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 election and mishandling classified documents after leaving the White House.Trump denied both charges and sought to frame them as politically motivated, accusing the Justice Department of being weaponized against him.Neither case came to trial and Smith — in line with a Justice Department policy of not prosecuting a sitting president — dropped them both after Trump won the November 2024 presidential election.- ‘No one’ above law -Smith said his decision to charge Trump was not motivated by politics.”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 Democrat or a Republican,” he said. “No one should be above the law in this country and the law required that he be held to account.”President Trump was charged because the evidence established that he willfully broke the very laws that he took an oath to uphold,” he said.Smith’s public appearance before the House panel comes a little over a month after he testified behind closed doors about his investigation and prosecution of Trump.Smith had requested that the initial deposition be delivered in public, but the Republican majority on the House Judiciary Committee declined his request.Since taking office for the second time, Trump has urged the Justice Department to bring cases against Smith and a number of other perceived political opponents.Trump has lashed out repeatedly at Smith over the years and he called him “deranged” and a “sick son of a bitch” at a press conference this week.Cases brought against Trump foes James Comey, a former FBI director, and New York Attorney General Letitia James collapsed last year after a judge ruled that the prosecutor who brought the charges was unlawfully appointed.
Former special counsel Jack Smith defended his prosecution of Donald Trump on Thursday, accusing him of engaging in a “criminal scheme” to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.Smith, in remarks to the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee, said his team of investigators had “developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in criminal activity.””Rather than accept his defeat in the 2020 presidential election, President Trump engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results and prevent the lawful transfer of power,” Smith told lawmakers.He said his decision to bring charges against Trump were taken “without regard to President Trump’s political association, activities, beliefs, or candidacy in the 2024 presidential election.”Smith was appointed special counsel in 2022, and charged Trump with plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 election and mishandling classified documents after leaving the White House.Trump denied both charges and sought to frame them as politically motivated, accusing the Justice Department of being weaponized against him.Neither case came to trial and Smith — in line with a Justice Department policy of not prosecuting a sitting president — dropped them both after Trump won the November 2024 presidential election.- ‘No one’ above law -Smith said his decision to charge Trump was not motivated by politics.”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 Democrat or a Republican,” he said. “No one should be above the law in this country and the law required that he be held to account.”President Trump was charged because the evidence established that he willfully broke the very laws that he took an oath to uphold,” he said.Smith’s public appearance before the House panel comes a little over a month after he testified behind closed doors about his investigation and prosecution of Trump.Smith had requested that the initial deposition be delivered in public, but the Republican majority on the House Judiciary Committee declined his request.Since taking office for the second time, Trump has urged the Justice Department to bring cases against Smith and a number of other perceived political opponents.Trump has lashed out repeatedly at Smith over the years and he called him “deranged” and a “sick son of a bitch” at a press conference this week.Cases brought against Trump foes James Comey, a former FBI director, and New York Attorney General Letitia James collapsed last year after a judge ruled that the prosecutor who brought the charges was unlawfully appointed.
