Raquel Coronell Uribe is a breaking news reporter.
WASHINGTON — Former special counsel Jack Smith will testify publicly before the House Judiciary Committee next week, Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, announced Monday night. The scheduled Jan. 22 hearing comes after Smith sat for more than eight hours for a closed-door deposition with the Republican-led committee in December regarding his investigations into President Donald Trump.
Smith had requested a public hearing before that testimony, but Republicans refused. Lanny Breuer, the attorney representing Smith, said in a statement Monday night that his client welcomes the opportunity to defend his probes into Trump. “Jack has been clear for months he is ready and willing to answer questions in a public hearing about his investigations into President Trump’s alleged unlawful efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his mishandling of classified documents,” Breuer said. NBC News reported last week that Jordan, the committee chair, would invite Smith to testify at a public hearing. The Judiciary Committee on Dec. 31 released a 255-page transcript and more than eight hours of video of the closed-door deposition from earlier in the month. In the deposition, Smith told lawmakers that he could prove “beyond a reasonable doubt” that Trump engaged in a “criminal scheme” to overturn the 2020 election results. Smith said that Trump was “the most culpable” in the election interference case and that he had “repeatedly tried to obstruct justice” in the classified documents case. The committee’s top Democrat, Jamie Raskin of Maryland, blasted the Republican majority Friday for making Smith testify privately after having rejected calls for a public hearing. “Even with many hours of private testimony, Republicans could not lay a glove on Jack Smith, his evidence, or his case. That will not change now that they have finally heeded our call to have him come testify publicly,' Raskin said in a statement. 'This upcoming hearing is 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.' Trump has repeatedly called for Smith to be prosecuted since he returned to office last year. Smith led probes into Trump, which led to two indictments against him — one in connection with his handling of classified documents and another in connection with his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Trump has denied wrongdoing, calling the cases politically motivated “witch hunts.” U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, dismissed the classified documents case, ruling that Smith’s appointment had been illegal. Smith dropped the election case after Trump was elected in 2024, citing Justice Department policy against prosecuting sitting presidents.
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