cross-posted from: https://news.abolish.capital/post/22034
Former special counsel Jack Smith on Thursday defended his decision to bring criminal charges against President Donald Trump, while also expressing deep concerns about the rule of law in the US during the second Trump administration.
During testimony before the US House Judiciary Committee, Smith emphasized that he decided to prosecute Trump solely because the facts in the case showed he had committed crimes.
“President Trump was charged because the evidence established that he willfully broke the law, the very laws he took an oath to uphold,” said Smith. “Grand juries in two separate districts reached this conclusion based on his actions as alleged in the indictments they returned.”
Smith then said that after losing the US presidential election in 2020, Trump “engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results and prevent the lawful transfer of power.”
The former special counsel emphasized that he stood by his decisions to bring charges against Trump because “our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in criminal activity.”
Smith told lawmakers on the committee that he had uncovered evidence that Trump knew his claims about the 2020 election being stolen were false, but he pushed them anyway in order to illegally remain in the White House.
“Trump was not looking for honest answers about whether there was fraud in the election,” said Smith. “He was looking for ways to stay in power. And when people told him things that conflicted with him staying in power, he rejected them.”
In addition to discussing his criminal cases against the president, which were dismissed without prejudice after the 2024 presidential election, Smith also delivered a warning about Trump’s campaign of retribution against his enemies.
“President Trump has sought to seek revenge against career prosecutors, FBI agents, and support staff simply for having done these cases,” he said. “Vilifying and seeking retribution against these people is wrong. Those dedicated public servants are the base of us, and it has been a privilege to serve with them.”
Smith then pivoted to warning about the state of the rule of law in general during Trump’s second term.
“My fear is that we have seen the rule of law function in our country for so long that many of us have come to take it for granted,” he said. “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. Our willingness to pay those costs is what tests and defines our commitment to the rule of law and to this wonderful country.”
Smith’s testimony earned praise from Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee.
“Special Counsel Smith, you pursued the facts,” Raskin said. “You followed every applicable law… Your decisions were reviewed by the Public Integrity Section. You acted based solely on the facts.”
The Maryland Democrat said that Smith’s approach to enforcing the law was in stark contrast to the approach the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has taken during Trump’s second term.
“The opposite of Donald Trump, who now has purported to take over the Department of Justice,” Raskin said. “He’s in charge of the whole thing under his unitary executive theory, and he acts openly, purely based on political vendetta and motives of personal revenge. And he doesn’t deny it.”
As Smith was testifying, Trump called Smith a “deranged animal” and put direct pressure the DOJ to punish the former special counsel.
“Hopefully the Attorney General is looking at what he’s done, including some of the crooked and corrupt witnesses that he was attempting to use in his case against me,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “The whole thing was a Democrat SCAM — A big price should be paid by them for what they have put our Country through!”
On Tuesday, Trump filed a motion asking the US District Court of the Southern District of Florida to prohibit the DOJ from carrying out a planned future release of Smith’s report on his case against Trump that involved the unlawful retention of top-secret government documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort after he left the White House in 2021.
Lisa Gilbert, co-president of Public Citizen, linked the timing of Thursday’s hearing with Smith to the potential release of his report on the classified documents case.
“Republicans are only now allowing this hearing simply because Judge Cannon’s injunction keeping the second volume of Jack Smith’s report private is about to expire,” she said. “Keeping the truth locked away is an assault on the rule of law and on the transparency owed to the American people.”
From Common Dreams via This RSS Feed.
A lot of this testimony had some pretty good moments.
The conservatives were being the usual fucksticks, but Jack Smith showing how to have balls. Same with some of the Democrats asking questions in there…
Yeah! Boy, they should’ve appointed someone to do something about that, huh?
This guy should run for your presidency, or someone like him. Not the fat idiot child rapist.
AG could be alright. Other than that his experience is amazingly in-depth in very specific areas but lacking breadth.
Plus there can at least be a veil of nonpartisanship if he doesn’t run. I don’t know his political background and honestly don’t care to.
God no
No shit?
/s
I mean that’s my kneejerk reaction to these headlines too but:
- It’s news he’s saying it because of where he is saying it and who he is
- it needs to be on record. Everything that can be needs to be on record. If we ever get out of this, we can’t hold anyone accountable without evidence, testimony, and records.
I’m not willing to get out of this if we’re not going to hold them accountable. Seriously we should all just burn like the garbage species we are if this is going to stand.
Lot of respect for him. One of the few to call it out, with courage, and in a very unfriendly space.
To add to this, I think most people in our orbit might be surprised to learn about this. I mean im sure a not insignificant number of Americans dont even know who Trump is. Theres a whole spectrum of people that just wouldnt know or care that hes a criminal. Any attempt to get through to them is worth it.
I like him saying he won’t be intimidated.
I’m really tired AF of authority figures pointing out the obvious and doing absolutely fuckall about it.
Are you referring to Smith? Because he brought concrete charges in multiple districts only to get stonewalled by corrupt judges/supreme court. If anything he’s the one that tried to do the most.
Generically.
So you decide to complain about it on a thread where that isn’t happening, instead of celebrating the thing you’ve been waiting for?
Fuck off Jack, you had you time and chance.
You fuck off, Jack Smith did everything he could and he did a damn good job of it.
Merrick Garland sat on the case for two years before appointing him as special council. Then Jack Smith made sure to do everything by the book and put a thorough case together. It was already making it’s way through court, but trump appealed to the Supreme Court which delayed making any decision on whether to even allow it to play out in court, until it was too late to continue prosecuting because trump already got elected.
Jack Smith is literally not at fault here, and you’re directing your aggression in the wrong direction.
Completely agree. Jack Smith had too little time and hardly a chance, because Merrick Garland waited long enough to ensure that was the case.
It’s interesting you bring up SCOTUS too. Garland was Obama’s compromise pick for the court in his last year in office 2015, which was when McConnel pulled the classic “you can’t confirm a justice in the last year of the president’s term, gotta let the people decide with a voter’s mandate!” And of course the Dems folded to this demented logic, allowing Trump to proceed to stack the court with the most partisan pissants ever to sit on the bench. It didn’t take long for them to determine Trump was above the law…just long enough to ensure Biden was going to do nothing to restructure the size of the court. Just an epic fail from Dems for the past decade+
My point being, Merrick Garland was going to fuck us over either way.
Jack Smith didn’t start from scratch. He took over the existing investigation.
I don’t know what point you’re trying to make. He still did the best job that anyone could have, was professional about it, and the cases were ultimately sabotaged by the supreme court.
People are talking like Garland didn’t do anything and it was all Smith. Garland did plenty of work and handed it over to Smith to run with.
Garland ran out the clock.
Either way, that doesn’t change my point
I’m sure you would have done better. Right?
Fuck you, dimwit. Learn how his hands were tied and fucked over.
Jack Smith is an icon that should have been allowed to prosecute Cheeto Chimp.
Imagine being so utterly deranged, if you call someone, who wants to get Trump prosecuted ASAP, a bootlicker.
Good job, dude 👏
