Jack Smith says he would prosecute Trump again for ‘serious crimes against our nation’
PBS News
Former special counsel Jack Smith said Tuesday that he stands by his decision to bring charges against President Donald Trump over his mishandling of classified documents and role in the Jan. 6 attack.
“Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in serious crimes against our nation,” Smith said during a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Transcript
Opening Statement of Former Special Counsel Jack Smith, Senate Judiciary Committee
Chairman Grassley, Ranking Member Durbin, members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to discuss my work as special counsel.
I’ve been fortunate to serve a country that I love for nearly 30 years, in local, national, and international settings. My service has spanned both Republican and Democratic administrations. I am not a politician, and I have no partisan loyalty. My career has been dedicated to serving our country by upholding the rule of law and the core principles upon which our country was founded.
I believe there is no role for politics in the proper administration of justice. A prosecutor’s decisions must be based on the facts and the law. The status, power, prominence, or political affiliation of the subject of an investigation must play no role in the decision to investigate, prosecute, or decline to prosecute. I approached my role as special counsel following these principles. The special counsel’s office followed Justice Department policy, observed legal requirements, and took actions based on the facts and the law.
I stand by my decisions as special counsel, including my decision to bring charges against President Trump. I made those decisions without regard to President Trump’s political associations, activities, beliefs, or candidacy in the 2024 presidential election. Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in serious crimes against our nation. If asked whether to prosecute a former president today, based on the same facts, I would do so regardless of whether that president was a Republican or a Democrat.
The charges against President Trump were the result of the evidence. Grand juries in two separate districts reached this conclusion based on his actions, as alleged in the indictments they returned. Rather than accept his defeat in the 2020 presidential election, President Trump engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results and prevent the lawful transfer of power. After leaving office in January of 2021, President Trump illegally kept classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago social club and repeatedly tried to obstruct justice to conceal his continued retention of those documents. Highly sensitive national security information was held in a bathroom and a ballroom where events and gatherings took place.
As with my appearance before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary, I am prepared to answer your questions truthfully. I stand by my testimony before the House of Representatives, and I will not be silenced by continued threats of prosecution from the president or others.
As I appear before you today, it is my belief that the rule of law faces challenges unlike any we have experienced in our lifetime. Individuals are threatened with criminal prosecution because they are perceived to have opposed the president. Predetermined outcomes increasingly seem to take precedence over the Justice Department’s long-standing core values and traditions.
History teaches that the rule of law is rarely destroyed all at once. It is often weakened by attacks on the institutions and the public servants sworn to uphold it. Since January of 2025, we have witnessed precisely such an effort, including the vilification of the agents, prosecutors, and staff who worked on my team, simply because of their unwavering dedication to the rule of law. I myself have been threatened with jail by the president of the United States.
However, I remain confident that the rule of law will endure, because so many continue to uphold it faithfully each day throughout our legal system. Public servants have remained faithful to their oaths despite extraordinary pressure to do otherwise. Their example demonstrates that while fear may be contagious, courage is as well.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. I look forward to your questions.
CHAIRMAN GRASSLEY: Thank you, Mr. Smith.
