Former particular counsel Jack Smith, who secured two indictments in opposition to Donald Trump, mentioned he’s prepared to testify earlier than Congress in open hearings so long as the U.S. Justice Division commits “that he will not be punished for doing so.”
In a letter addressed to Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the chairmen of the Home and Senate Judiciary Committees, respectively, Smith’s attorneys mentioned their consumer desires to publicly set the report straight on his prosecutorial work on the Trump circumstances.
“Given the many mischaracterizations of Mr. Smith’s investigation into President Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents and role in attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election, Mr. Smith respectfully requests the opportunity to testify in open hearings before the House and Senate Judiciary Committees,” the letter states.
Legal professionals Lanny Breuer and Peter Koski defended Smith’s probes, saying that he adopted longstanding DOJ tips.
Smith “is prepared to answer questions about the Special Counsel’s investigation and prosecution, but requires assurance from the Department of Justice that he will not be punished for doing so,” they added.
“To that end, Mr. Smith needs guidance from the Department of Justice regarding federal grand jury secrecy requirements and authorization on the matters he may speak to regarding, among other things, Volume II of the Final Report of the Special Counsel, which is not publicly available,” they added.
Whereas the DOJ delivered Smith’s report on his charging choices associated to the Trump 2020 election interference probe, a choose blocked the discharge of the report’s second quantity associated to the categorized paperwork investigation.
AP Photograph/J. Scott Applewhite
Smith’s attorneys additionally requested that he obtain entry to the particular counsel information to have the ability to reply to lawmakers’ questions.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the rating member on the Home Judiciary Committee, known as on Jordan to just accept Smith’s phrases.
“I can think of no reason to deny the American people the opportunity to hear his testimony, under oath and with questioning from Members of both parties, and to let all Americans judge for themselves the integrity of Mr. Smith’s investigations,” Raskin mentioned in an announcement.
Smith prosecuted two circumstances in opposition to Trump — one over his alleged mishandling of categorized paperwork and one other over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Each circumstances had been dismissed following Trump’s victory within the 2024 presidential race. Smith resigned in January after submitting his investigative report on Trump.
In a uncommon look in London earlier this month, Smith pushed again on any recommendations that his staff’s work on each investigations was politically motivated.
“The idea that politics would play a role in big cases like this,” he mentioned, “it’s absolutely ludicrous, and it’s totally contrary to my experience as a prosecutor.”
