The House Judiciary has released a transcript and video of former special counsel Jack Smith’s testimony about his unprecedented criminal investigation against Donald Trump for attempting to overturn the 2020 election results.
The December 17 testimony captured Smith defending his work from allegations of partisanship, sharing insights about how Trump reacted to the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, and alleging that Trump wants retribution against him.
Here are the key moments you need to know about.
‘We would have secured convictions’
During the testimony, Smith offered a confident assessment of the integrity of his work and his team’s chances of securing a conviction, had they been allowed to go to trial.
The former special counsel, who resigned shortly before Trump took office, told lawmakers that the Republican was “by a large measure” the person “most responsible” for the alleged conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election results and the January 6 Capitol riot that marked its stunning conclusion.
“These crimes were committed for his benefit,” Smith said. “The attack that happened at the Capitol, part of this case, does not happen without him. The other co-conspirators were doing this for his benefit.”
Smith also pushed back against allegations his work was politically motivated, saying he never communicated with President Joe Biden or the White House about his cases and would’ve pursued the same investigations against a Democrat.
“The timing and speed of our work reflects the strength of the evidence and our confidence that we would have secured convictions at trial,” Smith said. “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 Republican or a Democrat.”
Trump was ‘preying’ on allies and put VP’s life at risk
The testimony also highlighted the complicated role Republicans played in the final moments of the 2020 campaign.
Smith said much of his office’s conspiracy case rested on evidence from GOP allies, who included senior lawmakers serving in legislatures such as Michigan and Arizona, people who saw firsthand how the Republican was allegedly “preying on the party allegiance of people who supported him.”
“Our case was built on, frankly, Republicans who put their allegiance to the country before the party,” Smith said.
That same loyalty didn’t extend back from Trump to his top allies, Smith continued.
The former special counsel alleged that a January 6 tweet from the president attacking Vice President Mike Pence during the Capitol riot over his decision not to stymie the election results “without question” exacerbated the threat on Pence’s life. During the riot, MAGA supporters could be heard chanting, “Hang Mike Pence!” and came within feet of reaching the barricaded senior official.
A president hungry for ‘retribution’
The DOJ may have dropped its Trump cases after the president won reelection, but this may not be the end of the special counsel affair, Smith warned.
The prosecutor told lawmakers he had no doubt Trump wants revenge.
“So I am eyes wide open that this president will seek retribution against me if he can,” Smith said. “I know that.”
Some of that retribution appears to have already taken place. In January, the Trump administration quickly fired over a dozen DOJ officials who worked on investigations into Trump. The president also threatened law firms tied to Trump investigations and prominent Democrats, including Covington & Burling, which employs lawyers who previously represented Smith.
The Trump administration has also launched actions, so far unsuccessful, against other law enforcement figures involved in investigating or prosecuting Trump, including former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, following a direct call from President Trump for such cases.
Smith added that it will be “catastrophic” for democracy if more people are able to meddle in the election without facing legal consequences.
More clarity on controversial phone records
Smith also used his testimony to push back on what he said were “false and misleading” GOP claims that he wrongfully tapped their phone records.
The former special counsel said that his investigation lawfully obtained toll records, which captured phone numbers and durations of calls but not their content, because the White House was contacting lawmakers throughout January 6 to further its alleged election conspiracy.
“Well, I think who should be accountable for this is Donald Trump. These records are people, in the case of the senators, Donald Trump directed his co-conspirators to call these people to further delay the proceedings. He chose to do that,” Smith said. “If Donald Trump had chosen to call a number of Democratic senators, we would have gotten toll records for Democratic senators.”
A president who won’t stop violence or accept election reality
Smith’s testimony painted a picture of Trump as willfully blind to reality, ignoring the law around elections and refusing to stop the violence of January 6.
“And there was a pattern in our case where any time any information came in that would mean he could no longer be president he would reject it,” Smith said. “And any theory, no matter how far-fetched, no matter how not based in law, that would indicate that he could, he latched on to.”
This same obstinance continued through January 6, Smith said.
“Now, once they were at the Capitol and once the attack on the Capitol happened, he refused to stop it,” Smith testified.
“And when the violence was going on, he had to be pushed repeatedly by his staff members to do anything to quell it.”
The president is yet to publicly respond to Smith’s testimony.
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