Jack Smith tells Congress Trump 'broke the law' in first public testimony defending prosecutions

Smith testified publicly on Jan. 22, 2026, before the House Judiciary Committee for the first time about his Trump investigations. He testified privately for more than eight hours in Dec. 2025, but Republicans refused his request for a public hearing at that time. Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) scheduled the public hearing after Smith's lawyers demanded the Dec. deposition be made public. It's customary for special counsels to appear before Congress publicly to discuss their findings. Smith's testimony focused primarily on the Jan. 6 election interference case because Volume 2 of his report (covering classified documents) remains sealed by Trump-appointed Judge Aileen Cannon.

Smith told lawmakers 'I stand by my decisions as special counsel, including my decision to bring charges against President Trump. Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in criminal activity.' He said Trump 'was charged because the evidence established that he willfully broke the law—the very laws he took an oath to uphold.' Smith added he would have prosecuted any former president for the same conduct: '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. No one should be above the law in this country.'

Smith stated unequivocally that 'Donald Trump is the person who caused Jan. 6, that it was foreseeable to him and that he sought to exploit the violence. We followed the facts and we followed the law—where that led us was to an indictment of an unprecedented criminal scheme to block the peaceful transfer of power.' He said Trump 'was not looking for honest answers about whether there was fraud in the election. He was looking for ways to stay in power. And when people told him things that conflicted with him staying in power, he rejected them or he chose not even to contact people like that.'

Republicans focused heavily on Smith's team obtaining phone toll records from more than seven GOP members of Congress who were in contact with Trump on Jan. 6, 2021. Committee Chairman Jim Jordan raised the issue within 15 seconds of his opening statement, accusing Smith of obtaining records from former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and other top Republicans for political gain. The toll records show time, duration, and recipients of calls and texts but not the content. Smith explained the records were necessary to establish a timeline: 'We wanted to conduct a thorough investigation of the matters that were assigned to me, including attempts to interfere with the lawful transfer of power. The conspiracy that we were investigating, it was relevant to get toll records to understand the scope of that conspiracy, who they were seeking to coerce, who they were seeking to influence, who was seeking to help them.' Many decisions about the subpoenas were made before Smith was appointed.

Trump posted on Truth Social during Smith's testimony, calling him 'a deranged animal who shouldn't be allowed to practice law' and demanding prosecution. Trump wrote 'Deranged Jack Smith is being DECIMATED before Congress. It was over when they discussed his past failures and unfair prosecutions. He destroyed many lives under the guise of legitimacy.' Later, Trump posted 'Based on his testimony today, there is no question that Deranged Jack Smith should be prosecuted for his actions.' At his Jan. 20 press briefing marking his one-year anniversary, Trump called Smith 'deranged Jack Sick Smith' and said 'He's a sick son of a bitch.'

Smith told the committee he won't be intimidated by Trump's threats: 'The statements are meant to intimidate me. I will not be intimidated. I think these statements are also made as a warning to others what will happen if they stand up. I'm not going to be intimidated. We did our work pursuant to Department policy.' He defended his witnesses, including 🍑Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger: 'There were witnesses who I felt would be very strong witnesses, including, for example, the secretary of state in Georgia who told Donald Trump the truth, told him things that he did not want to hear and put him on notice that what he was saying was false. My experience as a prosecutor over 30 years is that witnesses like that are very credible, and that jurors tend to believe witnesses like that, because they pay a cost for telling the truth.'

Representative JRJamie Raskin (D-MD), the ranking Democrat, said Smith answered every question 'to the satisfaction of any reasonable-minded person in that room' during the Dec. deposition. At the public hearing, Raskin said 'Maybe for them' it was about politics, referring to Republicans, 'but for us, it's all about the rule of law.' Representative DIDarrell Issa (R-CA) attacked Smith's independence: 'You, like the president's men for Richard Nixon, went after your political enemies. Maybe they're not your political enemies, but they sure as hell were Joe Biden's political enemies, weren't they?' Smith responded that the evidence showed Trump was 'by a large measure the most culpable and most responsible person in this conspiracy.'

Smith's report on the classified documents investigation remains sealed by Judge Aileen Cannon's order, and Trump's lawyers filed a motion this week asking the court to permanently block its release. Cannon dismissed the classified documents case in Jul. 2025, ruling Smith's appointment as special counsel was illegal. Smith dropped the Jan. 6 election interference case after Trump won the 2024 election, citing Justice Department policy against prosecuting sitting presidents. Smith told lawmakers 'We were ready, willing and able to go to trial in the case' and believed they would have gotten convictions. Most prosecutors and FBI agents who worked on the investigations were fired after Trump returned to office, which Trump highlighted as an accomplishment at his Jan. 20 press briefing.