Yesterday, former special counsel Jack Smith testified at a public hearing before the House Judiciary Committee. As I discussed in this recent postSmith gave closed-door testimony before the same committee last month, but had always sought the opportunity to testify publicly. It may seem surprising that Republican leaders offered Smith the opportunity to recount his findings in the two federal criminal prosecutions against Donald Trump. But the hearing was less about exploring Trump's alleged criminal activities and more about Republican efforts to help Trump rewrite history.
Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-MD) opened his speech by saying he was grateful that Smith finally had the same opportunity as other special counsels to discuss his findings in a public hearing. But that wasn't quite right; Smith was not treated like other special advisers. The hearing was called as part of a committee investigation not into Donald Trump but into the Biden administration's alleged militarization of the Justice Department. The Republican majority's goal was not to allow Smith to present his findings but to attack his investigation.
House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan during yesterday's hearing (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
As I noted in my previous messageRepublicans undoubtedly felt they needed to hold a hearing to demonstrate that they were going after Smith to appease Trump, who has repeatedly called Smith a “deranged” prosecutor who should be thrown in jail. But they also know that it's not really in their interest to have the country reminded of Trump's plot to overturn the 2020 election, the January 6 riot at the Capitol by his supporters, Trump's lawless withholding and reckless handling of classified documents, and his efforts to obstruct justice.
So Republicans did their best to distract from Trump's crimes by attacking the prosecutor. Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) opened his speech by saying the prosecution of Smith was “always about politics” and that Smith's goal was “to catch President Trump.” He described Smith's cases as part of a decade-long history of baseless Democratic attacks on Trump, reciting a litany that included James Comey, the Mueller investigation, the two indictments and lawsuits in Georgia and New York state.
Likewise, during their questioning, Republicans focused on almost anything other than the facts of the criminal cases. As they did in the deposition, they attacked Smith for obtaining the phone records of Republican members of Congress and claimed he had “spied on” them; suggested that Smith had not been correctly named; claimed that Trump's efforts to overturn the election were protected by the first amendment; and questioned whether the testimony of a single witness, Cassidy Hutchinson, might have been hearsay. (The attacks on Hutchinson were particularly vicious, since there was no indication that she was important to Smith's indictment or that he would have called her as a witness at trial.)
Republican efforts to avoid further discussion of the substance of Trump's crimes received support from Judge Aileen Cannon, the Trump-appointed judge who presided over his prosecution in Florida. Cannon has kept Smith's report on the classified documents affair under seal for the past year, and Trump is now seeking to make that order permanent. Accordingly, as was the case in the deposition, Smith was not permitted to reveal anything in Volume 2 of his report dealing with the Florida case. The extremely damaging facts regarding the classified documents strewn throughout the restrooms and ballroom of Mar-a-Lago as well as Trump's efforts to obstruct the investigation were not discussed.
Overall, the Republican approach to the hearing can be best summarized as: “OK, so maybe Trump tried to overturn the election, rioted at the Capitol, mishandled hundreds of classified documents, and tried to obstruct justice. But can we just talk for a minute about how you had the nerve to subpoena our phone records?”
As I explained in more detail in the previous messageThe phone records that put Republicans in such concern were phone call records that listed calls made and received from a phone and the duration of the call. They do not reveal the substance of any conversation. As Smith stated, obtaining these records was standard investigative practice and his team followed all relevant DOJ rules and legal requirements to obtain them.
It's not hard to understand why Republicans wanted to change the subject. Black-smith testified that its investigation “developed evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in criminal activity.” He calmly and repeatedly affirmed the strength of his arguments and his team's desire to prove the accusations in court beyond a reasonable doubt. He forcefully rejected Republican suggestions that he was politically motivated or working under Biden in the White House: “If I were asked whether I should prosecute a former president based on the same facts today, I would do so, whether that president was a Republican or a Democrat.”
When it comes to the merits of his prosecution, the Republicans have, once again, not given Smith any gloves. The hearing revealed no new bombshells and in no way undermined the strength of his arguments. But shedding additional light on the truth about Trump's criminal conduct was never the reason Republicans called him to testify.
Shortly after this happened, Trump attempted to rewrite the history of January 6th. He continues to spread the “big lie” that the 2020 election was stolen from him. He says the riot at the Capitol was not serious and that the criminal charges against him were a political witch hunt. One of the most recent and scandalous examples of this presidential manipulation is official White House website regarding January 6, it contains nothing but proven lies and Trump propaganda – all at the expense of taxpayers.
This hearing is perhaps best understood as part of this effort to rewrite history by portraying Trump as an innocent victim — in this case, of a rogue political prosecutor. The problem for the Republicans was that their witness didn't look like a bad guy. To sell the Trump story, they had to denounce Smith as a fire-breathing, overzealous Inspector Javert – as “deranged,” as Trump has said dozens of times, including during the hearing itself.
In this effort, the Republicans have failed miserably. Lacking any real evidence of misconduct or political motivation, they have only leveled accusations and innuendo. Smith was unfazed and did not waver from his belief in the righteousness of his cases. He is at very real personal risk that the Justice Department will follow Trump's orders and seek to prosecute him, as it has prosecuted other Trump enemies. Despite this danger, Smith calmly testified: “I'm not going to be intimidated. » He seemed as far from disturbed as one could imagine. The same cannot be said of some of the Republicans who question him.
But in today's political environment, the content of the hearing probably matters less than the mere fact that it took place. Republicans will use selected excerpts to falsely claim in right-wing media that Smith's prosecution and integrity have been destroyed – or DECIMATED, like Trump himself. published on Truth Social in the middle of the audience. That’s all much of the MAGA universe will see, and it will reinforce the false narrative that Trump is a victim. After all, the regime that watches the videos of the January 6 riot at the Capitol and claims that they show a peaceful demonstration of patriots can easily watch the video of the hearing and claim that it shows a deranged political prosecutor. In an administration where facts no longer matter, the hearing likely served its purpose.
For the rest of us, Smith's testimony was a reminder not only of the president's crimes, but also of how far the Justice Department has fallen since Trump took office. Republicans are shouting that Smith was a political actor secretly carrying out orders from President Joe Biden, but they have no proof. Smith repeatedly and credibly testified that not only was this not true, but that taking a political slant in a criminal prosecution would have been contrary to everything he did and learned during his 30-year career.
Compare that with the current Justice Department, a year into the Trump administration. President Trump publicly demands that his political opponents be investigated and prosecuted, and his Justice Department is complying. There is no attempt to hide the use of the Justice Department to further Trump's political goals and personal vendettas. While a congressional committee is supposed to investigate the secret militarization of the Justice Department under Biden, the real militarization by the Trump administration is happening every day in plain sight.
In his opening statementSmith expressed concern that our collective commitment to the rule of law in this country is eroding. The actions of Trump's Justice Department over the past year and the spectacle of yesterday's hearing suggest its fears are well-founded. The long and difficult task of restoring that commitment and public confidence in the justice system must be an urgent project of the post-Trump era.
