Former US special counsel Jack Smith has defended his prosecution of former President Donald Trump, accusing him of orchestrating a criminal scheme aimed at overturning the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
Smith made the allegation on Thursday while addressing the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee, where he said investigators gathered evidence establishing beyond reasonable doubt that Trump engaged in criminal conduct after losing the election to Democrat Joe Biden.
“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,” Smith told lawmakers.
He said the decision to prosecute Trump was based strictly on the evidence and not influenced by politics, Trump’s party affiliation, or his candidacy in the 2024 presidential election.
Smith was appointed special counsel in 2022 and subsequently charged Trump over efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, as well as for the alleged mishandling of classified documents after leaving the White House.
Trump denied all allegations, describing the prosecutions as politically motivated and accusing the Justice Department of being weaponised against him.
Neither case went to trial. In line with long-standing Justice Department policy against prosecuting a sitting president, Smith dropped the cases after Trump won the November 2024 presidential election and returned to office.
Smith maintained that the rule of law guided his actions, insisting that political status should not shield anyone from accountability.
“If asked whether to prosecute a former president based on the same facts today, I would do so regardless of party,” he said.
“No one should be above the law.”
Smith’s public testimony followed a closed-door appearance before the same committee more than a month earlier.
His request for that initial deposition to be held publicly was rejected by the committee’s Republican majority.
Since returning to office, Trump has called on the Justice Department to pursue investigations against Smith and several perceived political opponents, repeatedly attacking the former special counsel in public statements.
Meanwhile, recent cases brought against Trump critics, including former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, collapsed last year after a judge ruled that the prosecutor involved was unlawfully appointed.
