Dec. 3 (UPI) — The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday subpoenaed former special counsel Jack Smith to have him testify during a closed-door hearing on Dec. 17.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, wrote Smith on Wednesday to inform him of the subpoena as the committee investigates Smith’s and the Biden administration’s efforts to prosecute President Donald Trump.
Separate investigations were examining claims that Trump tried to interfere with the transfer of power following the 2020 election won by President Joe Biden and Trump’s alleged possession of classified documents.
“Due to your service as special counsel, the committee believes that you possess information that is vital to oversight of this matter,” Jordan said in the one-page letter that he addressed to Smith and that included the subpoena.
The committee has scheduled Smith to testify at 10 a.m. on Dec.17 and subpoenaed documents that he must provide to the committee by Dec. 12.
Attorney Peter Koski is one of Smith’s attorneys and said the former special counsel will comply with the subpoena, as he had offered to do in October, CBS News reported.
“We are disappointed that offer was rejected and that the American people will be denied the opportunity to hear directly from Jack on the topics,” Koski said in a prepared statement.
“Jack looks forward to meeting with the committee later this month to discuss his work and clarify the various misconceptions about his investigation,” Koski added.
Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin, D-Md., accused Republicans and the Trump administration of engaging in a smear campaign against Smith and his investigative team.
“Chairman Jordan has denied special counsel Jack Smith’s offer to speak publicly to the whole Congress and the whole country about his investigations into Donald Trump,” Raskin said in a prepared statement.
Instead, Jordan is “demanding he comply with a subpoena for a closed-door, private session simply so Republicans can spin, distort and cherry-pick his remarks through press leaks,” Raskin said.
“What are our colleagues so afraid of that they won’t let the American people hear directly from the special counsel?”
Raskin accused House Republicans of trying to force Smith “into the shadows of a backroom interrogation and subject him to the tiresome and loathsome partisan tactics of leak-and-distort.
He said the American people demand transparency in the matter via a public hearing.
Smith’s investigation of Trump ended when the Supreme Court in July 2024 ruled that presidents have broad immunity against prosecution for actions taken while in office, including the matters being investigated by Smith.
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