Former special counsel Jack Smith takes the witness chair before the House Judiciary Committee today in what promises to be the most consequential congressional testimony of the year. The hearing, scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. EST, marks Smith’s first public appearance to defend the twin investigations that led to more than 40 federal charges against President Donald Trump, charges that were ultimately dropped after Trump’s return to the White House.
Smith has been waiting months for this moment. After Republicans initially forced him into a closed-door deposition last December, the career prosecutor repeatedly demanded the cameras be turned on. Now he’s getting his wish, and he’s coming out swinging.
Smith’s Opening Salvo: ‘No One Should Be Above The Law’
According to his prepared opening statement obtained by NBC News, Smith will deliver a direct warning to the American public about the fragility of democratic institutions. “I have seen how the rule of law can erode,” Smith plans to tell lawmakers. “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.”
The former prosecutor’s message is unambiguous: “No one should be above the law in our country, and the law required that he be held to account. So that is what I did.”
Smith’s testimony will outline his findings that Trump engaged in a “criminal scheme” to overturn his 2020 election loss. His prepared remarks lay out the case methodically: Trump allegedly attempted to induce state officials to ignore vote counts, manufactured fraudulent electoral slates in seven states, pressured Vice President Mike Pence to abandon his constitutional duties, and on January 6, 2021, directed an angry mob to the Capitol to obstruct congressional certification of the presidential election.
The Republican Counter-Offensive
House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, the Ohio Republican who will lead today’s questioning, has made clear his intentions. “Jack Smith was just a continuation, in some ways sort of a culmination of this weaponization of the government, this lawfare, this going after your political opponent,” Jordan said in recent interviews. He told reporters Wednesday that he wants to show the public that Smith’s prosecutions were “no different than all the other lawfare weaponization of government going after President Trump.”
Republicans are expected to hammer Smith on the “Arctic Frost” investigation, which involved obtaining phone records of Republican senators and sitting lawmakers, including Jordan himself. GOP members have seized on this as evidence of improper surveillance, though Smith’s attorneys maintain the records were lawfully subpoenaed and relevant to a comprehensive investigation of the Capitol attack.
During his December deposition, Smith revealed something Republicans have been less eager to publicize: then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows told investigators that Jordan called the White House on January 6, 2021, “scared” of the protesters breaking into the Capitol, a description that contradicts Jordan’s subsequent claims that the protesters were peaceful.
Trump’s Response: ‘Sick Son Of A Bitch’
President Trump has not been subtle about his feelings toward his former prosecutor. At a news conference this week marking one year since returning to office, Trump celebrated the firing of career prosecutors and FBI agents who worked on Smith’s investigations. “Ended Joe Biden’s weaponization of our government and removed his handpicked radical left Marxist prosecutors from the Department of Justice, like deranged Jack Sick Smith,” Trump said. “He’s a sick son of a bitch.”
Trump has repeatedly called for Smith to be prosecuted and at times suggested throwing him out of the country. Smith, for his part, has acknowledged the reality of his situation. When asked during his December deposition whether his testimony was compelled at the instruction of the White House, Smith responded: “I am eyes wide open that this President will seek retribution.”
What Smith Can And Cannot Say
There’s one major limitation on today’s testimony. Volume Two of Smith’s final report, covering the classified documents investigation at Mar-a-Lago, remains sealed by court order from U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, the Trump appointee who dismissed that case. Trump’s personal lawyers made a fresh plea this week to keep those findings secret, arguing the report contains grand jury and privileged materials that would harm the president’s constitutional and privacy rights.
Smith can speak freely about the election interference investigation. Volume One of his report, which was released to the public, concluded that the evidence established Trump’s guilt “beyond a reasonable doubt.” In his December testimony, Smith stated plainly: “The evidence here made clear that President Trump was by a large measure the most culpable and most responsible person in this conspiracy. These crimes were committed for his benefit.”
On the classified documents case, Smith did reveal in his closed-door testimony that Trump “tried to obstruct justice” to conceal his continued retention of those documents, but further details remain under seal.
Democrats Welcome The Spotlight
Ranking Member Jamie Raskin, the Maryland Democrat, has framed the hearing as a vindication. “Even with many hours of private testimony, Republicans could not lay a glove on Jack Smith, his evidence, or his case,” Raskin said. “That will not change now that they have finally heeded our call to have him come testify publicly.”
Raskin called the hearing “a win for truth-seeking Americans and yet another looming humiliation for Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans, who depend on a daily diet of lies to keep their Administration afloat.”
Rep. Daniel Goldman of New York, who participated in the December deposition, said Smith answered every question “to the satisfaction of any reasonable-minded person in that room.” He added: “The accusations against him are completely bogus, and the American people should hear that for themselves.”
The Stakes Beyond The Hearing Room
What makes today’s testimony significant isn’t just the historical record Smith will establish. It’s the broader context of democratic accountability that hangs over every word.
Smith’s prosecutorial career has been dedicated to pursuing corruption and war crimes across the globe. He led the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section and later served as chief prosecutor at the special court investigating Kosovo war crimes. He took the Trump assignment knowing it would be politically explosive. He pursued it knowing he would face the full weight of presidential hostility if Trump returned to power.
Now Smith sits before Congress as a citizen, his office disbanded, his team members fired, with a president who calls him a “sick son of a bitch” and threatens prosecution. The rule of law he spent his career upholding is precisely what hangs in the balance.
“The rule of law is not self-executing,” Smith plans to tell lawmakers today. “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.”
The hearing begins at 10 a.m. EST and is expected to last several hours. PBS, C-SPAN, and major news networks will carry it live.