Headline: Showdown Looms as Jack Smith Prepares to Defend Trump Prosecutions on Capitol Hill

The latest developments around former special counsel Jack Smith and former President Donald Trump center on an impending public clash on Capitol Hill, with Smith preparing to defend his now-defunct prosecutions as Trump’s allies move to put him on trial in the court of public opinion.[1][2]

House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan has announced he will invite Jack Smith to appear in an open hearing as early as this month, after months of pressure from Smith’s legal team for a public forum.[1][4][5] Smith already testified behind closed doors for roughly eight to nine hours in December, answering detailed questions about his two federal cases against Trump.[1][2][3] That earlier deposition transcript and accompanying video have now been released, setting the stage for a much more visible confrontation when cameras are rolling.[1][2][3][4]

Smith led the Justice Department investigations that produced more than 40 federal charges against Trump, focused on alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election and on the retention of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago after Trump left office.[2][3] Smith has maintained under oath that he had enough evidence to prove those charges beyond a reasonable doubt and that his work was not coordinated with the Biden White House nor aimed at sabotaging Trump’s 2024 campaign.[2] However, all federal charges were dropped after Trump won a second presidential term in November 2024, a consequence of Justice Department policy and Trump’s renewed control of the executive branch.[1][2]

Republicans on the Judiciary Committee are using the upcoming hearing to press their claim that Smith’s prosecutions were politically motivated, criticizing investigative steps such as obtaining phone records of sitting GOP lawmakers.[2][4] Jordan has highlighted one exchange from Smith’s deposition in which Smith acknowledged he had no direct evidence that Trump explicitly ordered rioters to attack the Capitol on January 6, a point Republicans argue undercuts the original narrative around the cases.[1][4] Smith, however, has emphasized that his evidence shows Trump was “by a large measure the most culpable and most responsible person in this conspiracy,” arguing that the January 6 attack “does not happen without him.”[2][3]

Democrats on the committee, led by Rep. Jamie Raskin, are welcoming Smith’s public appearance, predicting that his detailed explanations will further damage Trump and expose what they describe as a pattern of disinformation by the Trump administration and its allies.[1][2] Smith’s lawyer has said the former special counsel is “ready and willing” to answer questions in public about Trump’s alleged unlawful efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his handling of classified documents, signaling that listeners should expect a forceful, televised defense of his work in the weeks ahead.[2][3]

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