Jan. 22 (UPI) — Former Special Counsel Jack Smith, who led two criminal cases against President Donald Trump, is scheduled to testify before Congress Thursday.
“I have seen how the rule of law can erode. My fear is that we have seen the rule of law function in this country for so long that many of us have come to take it for granted,” Smith said in a statement that he plans to tell members of the House Judiciary Committee.
“But, the rule of law is not self-executing — it depends on our collective commitment to apply it. It requires dedicated service on behalf of others, especially when that service is difficult and comes with costs,” his planned remarks said. “Our willingness to pay those costs is what tests and defines our commitment to the rule of law and to this wonderful country.”
Smith testified for the Committee on Dec. 17 for eight hours. He then called for the testimony to be released to the public. On Dec. 31, the Committee released the video and a 255-page transcript of his testimony.
In his testimony, he said he had enough evidence to convict Trump for his part in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
“Our view of the evidence was that he caused it and that he exploited it and that it was foreseeable to him,” Smith said in his testimony.
“The decision to bring charges against President Trump was mine, but the basis for nine of those charges rests entirely with President Trump and his actions, as alleged in the 10 indictments returned by grand juries in two different districts,” Smith said.
Smith had gotten two indictments against Trump in 2023. One was accusing Trump of keeping classified documents after his first term, and the other was for plotting to overthrow the 2020 election.
He dropped both cases after Trump won in 2024 because the Justice Department has a policy against prosecuting a sitting president.
Trump denied any wrongdoing and has called the indictments “witch hunts.” He has repeatedly called for the prosecution of Smith since he took office last year.
The Committee, led by Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, is investigating Smith over the indictments. Jordan has also called the investigations witch hunts.
Republicans on the Committee will likely question Smith about what they call his attempts to infringe on Trump’s right to free speech.
“As we said in the indictment, he was free to say that he thought he won the election. He was even free to say falsely that he won the election,” Smith said in the deposition. “But what he was not free to do was violate federal law and use knowing — knowingly false statements about election fraud to target a lawful government function.”
Karen Friedman Agnifilo worked alongside Smith as a prosecutor. She told NBC News that he is prepared to face the Committee.
“You’ve got the highest law enforcement officer in the country and the president of the United States essentially saying they’re going to wield their power against you, even if you’ve done nothing wrong,” she said. “But he’s pretty unflappable, and I think he’ll be able to separate that out.”
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