Jack Smith defends investigations into Trump during tense US Senate hearing

Former Special Counsel Jack Smith told the Senate Judiciary Committee that his investigations into Donald Trump followed Justice Department policies and rested on evidence that met the standard for criminal charges. Smith rejected Republican claims that political considerations drove his decisions, asserting that his office developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt of serious crimes by Trump. He reiterated that prosecutors consulted with the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section on key steps. Republican senators criticized Smith's investigative methods, focusing on subpoenas that obtained phone metadata for members of Congress and financial records from Republican donors and groups. Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley accused Smith’s team of using probes to "map out and target the entire Republican Party," and Senator Ted Cruz, whose records were sought, challenged why lawmakers were not notified of subpoenas. Smith said secrecy was necessary because prosecutors feared potential evidence destruction or interference. Smith defended the collection of call timing and duration records as corroborating evidence that Trump and his allies contacted members of Congress while seeking to delay certification of the 2020 election results. He emphasized that the records did not include call content and noted there was no law prohibiting the pursuit of such metadata in the course of the investigation. He also said his office followed established procedures before obtaining the information. During his testimony, Smith accused the Trump administration of retaliating against prosecutors and agents who worked on the cases, saying some members of his former team were fired for "doing their jobs." Those firings have prompted legal challenges, including a March class-action lawsuit by three former FBI agents who say they were illegally terminated and seek reinstatement. Smith, who resigned shortly before Trump’s second inauguration in January 2025, framed the scrutiny as part of a broader threat to the Justice Department’s independence and said he would not be intimidated by threats from the president or others.