Disgraced Jack Smith Faces Lion’s Den Over Trump ‘Witch Hunt’ Probe

Former Special Counsel Jack Smith is back on Capitol Hill Tuesday, this time facing the Senate Judiciary Committee as Republicans press him over his investigations into President Donald Trump and the collection of communications belonging to Republican lawmakers.

The hearing, chaired by Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA), is titled “Oversight of Jack Smith’s Abuse of Authority and the Targeting of Republicans and Related Matters,” setting the stage for a combative morning. Grassley and other Republicans have spent months investigating Smith’s work, including the disclosure that his team obtained communications involving dozens of members of Congress during its investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Smith, however, is showing no signs of backing away from the prosecutions. In his prepared opening statement, he said he “stand[s] by my decisions as special counsel,” including his decision to charge Trump, and argues that the 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,” Smith told the senators. The former special counsel also said the investigations were based on facts and law rather than Trump’s political affiliation, noting that grand juries in two separate federal districts returned indictments.

President Trump, for his part, has blasted Smith since the indictments against him were first unsealed in 2023, calling Smith a “deranged lunatic” and a “Trump hater.” At the time, Trump characterized the investigation as a “WITCH HUNT!”

Democrats on the committee are expected to defend Smith and the underlying investigations. Ranking Member Dick Durbin (D-IL) previewed the hearing Monday by accusing Republicans of spreading “baseless conspiracy theories” and defending Smith as a “nonpartisan career prosecutor.” During his opening statement, Durbin pointed to Trump’s efforts following the 2020 election and the January 6 Capitol riot as justification for the investigation.

Smith’s testimony comes as the Senate Judiciary Committee continues its broader investigation into the “Arctic Frost” probe, including subpoenas for congressional records and other investigative activity surrounding the 2020 election case. The committee says Smith’s team obtained records of 44 members of Congress.

The tension escalated dramatically when Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) launched into a fierce interrogation of the former special counsel. Kennedy pressed Smith on his career, character, and political leanings, repeatedly asking him to define terms like “arrogant” and “self-righteous,” and bringing up Smith’s wife’s past work on a documentary about former First Lady Michelle Obama.

Kennedy then pivoted to Attorney General Merrick Garland and the Justice Department, sarcastically asking Smith if he believed in the “Tooth Fairy” or “Easter Bunny” after Smith testified that he had no knowledge of whether Garland consulted President Biden before approving the indictments. The exchange reached a crescendo when Kennedy confronted Smith over the collection of Republican lawmakers’ toll records, accusing him of violating the Speech or Debate Clause and failing to inform the judge who issued non-disclosure orders. “Anybody who knows a law book from a J. Crew catalog knows that this violates the Constitution,” Kennedy charged, capping off his time by telling Smith: “You make me want to throw up in my mouth.”

Fireworks flared up again shortly after during a tense exchange with Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO), who produced a poster board referencing internal team text messages suggesting Smith attended a basketball game in Atlanta, implying a potential link or meeting with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’s office. Smith stated he had no recollection of going to Atlanta or attending an NBA Hawks game. 

Schmitt pressed on, accusing Smith of perjuring himself and concluding with a blistering attack: “You have weaponized the Department of Justice against political enemies to an extent that has never happened in the history of this country. You will go down as a total dirtbag.”

The altercation sparked immediate pushback from Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), who demanded that the witness be shown the evidence being cited against him. The dispute quickly revealed a bizarre case of mistaken identity: Smith recalled attending a University of Maryland women’s basketball game around that time to watch star player Caitlin Clark — who played for the Iowa Hawkeyes. 

Klobuchar pointed out that Schmitt appears to have confused the Iowa Hawkeyes with the Atlanta Hawks. “I think that people should have their facts straight before they accuse someone of being a dirtbag,” Klobuchar remarked as the two senators sparred from across the dais. Schmitt maintained his attack and insisted, “I stand by that statement.”

This is a developing story. Stay with the Daily Wire as new details unfold.

More from this network:
Domains for Sale · GOTPeople.org · TheDSAPlatform · The Truth About Socialism

Donate to GOTPeople.org