The ex-federal prosecutor who brought a pair of federal criminal cases against President Donald Trump during his time out of office wants his marathon Congressional testimony about the cases to be released to the public.
Former Department of Justice special counsel Jack Smith spent nine hours testifying behind closed doors before the House Judiciary Committee earlier this month about his efforts to prosecute Trump on charges that he allegedly illegally retained classified documents from his first term at his Palm Beach, Florida property and allegedly tried to illegally overturn the results of the 2020 election that he’d lost to Joe Biden.
Despite a request from Smith’s lawyers that he be permitted to give evidence in open session, the Republican-led panel required him to appear for a closed-door deposition as part of its efforts to undermine the defunct criminal cases against the president.
Now, Smith’s attorneys have asked Republican Judiciary Committee chair Jim Jordan to permit the “prompt public release” of Smith’s videotaped appearance, which they said their client “welcomed” as an opportunity to “correct the many mischaracterizations” about his work.
“Mr. Smith respectfully requests the prompt public release of the full videotape of his deposition. Doing so will ensure that the American people can hear the facts directly from Mr. Smith, rather than through second-hand accounts,” they said.
They added that they were reiterating their request for an “open and public hearing” for him to testify further.
Smith, who has long been targeted by Trump and allies for what they believe was weaponization of the justice system against Republicans during the Biden administration, is also being investigated by the Office of Special Counsel, an independent federal agency that safeguards the government’s merit system by investigating allegations of wrongdoing and protects employees while whistleblowing.
It is separate from the Justice Department office where Smith’s special counsel status came from.
The agency is investigating Smith for allegedly violating the Hatch Act, a law that prohibits federal employees from engaging in political activity. It opened the probe at the behest of Arkansas Senator and Republican Tom Cotton, a close ally of the president who was under consideration to be Secretary of Defense after last year’s election.
The investigation into Smith is the latest move in the president’s campaign of retribution against those whom he believes unfairly targeted him for political reasons. Trump has used his power as president to open investigations into people, revoke security clearances and target businesses and institutions.
Ariana Baio contributed reporting
