Jack Smith stresses strength of Trump cases, says he will not be ‘silenced’ by threats
Jack Smith stresses strength of Trump cases, says he will not be ‘silenced’ by threats
Rebecca Beitsch Tue, September 29, 2026 at 1:11 PM UTC
11
Former special counsel Jack Smith stressed in prepared remarks that it was the evidence tied to President Trump’s own actions that prompted him to bring charges against Trump.
The opening statement, obtained by The Hill, is to be delivered as Smith appears Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee for his second appearance before Congress about his investigations into Trump.
“The charges against President Trump were the result of the evidence," the ex-federal prosecutor wrote. "Grand juries in two separate districts reached this conclusion based on his actions, as alleged in the indictments they returned."
Smith is slated to tell the committee about the charges related to both the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case and the case tied to the president's role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
“I stand by my decisions as Special Counsel, including my decision to bring charges against President Trump. I made these decisions without regard to President Trump’s political association, activities, beliefs, or candidacy in the 2024 presidential election," the opening statement reads.
"Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in criminal activity," it continued. "If asked whether to prosecute a former President based on the same facts today, I would do so regardless of whether that President was a Republican or a Democrat.”
Smith in his prepared remarks also directly addressed Trump and criticized the erosion of prosecutorial norms under the president.
“I will not be silenced by the continued threats of prosecution from the President or others,” he wrote, referencing “the vilification of the career prosecutors, FBI agents, and support staff who served on my team.”
“It is my belief that the rule of law faces challenges unlike any we have experienced in our lifetime. Individuals are threatened with criminal investigation because they are perceived to have opposed the President," the former special counsel wrote. "Predetermined outcomes increasingly seem to take precedence over the Justice Department’s long-standing core values, traditions, and norms."
In appearing before the panel, Smith will sit across from one of the most vocal critics of his investigation, Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who has said the prosecutor was overzealous in subpoenaing the toll records of GOP lawmakers who spoke with Trump that day and the records of various conservative groups.
Smith’s statement does not address that criticism, but in the past, he has stressed that he obtained only call logs and did not have access to the content of the conversations. Some records were also obtained because the White House is tasked with preserving records through the National Archives, including contact with lawmakers.
Advertisement
The prosecutor did, however, argue that his actions were not politically motivated.
“My service has spanned both Republican and Democratic administrations. I am not a politician, and I have no partisan loyalties," he continued in the statement. "My career has been dedicated to serving our country by upholding the rule of law and the core principles on which our country was founded."
“I believe that there is no role for politics in the proper administration of justice. A prosecutor’s decisions must be based on the facts and the law,” Smith states.
Smith, who served under former President Biden, is largely unable to answer questions about the Mar-a-Lago documents case, which was brought after Trump repeatedly refused entreaties to return records slated to be archived from his administration — with Trump even ordering boxes moved to hide the papers from both his lawyers and law enforcement. A subsequent search of the home found more than 300 documents that had been marked classified, prompting Espionage Act charges.
The jurist overseeing the matter, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, has shielded the release of Smith’s report discussing that case.
Questions are expected to primarily focus on Smith’s oversight of the Jan. 6 case.
Smith offered his view of the case in his prepared statement.
“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,” he wrote.
“The evidence showed that President Trump attempted to induce state officials to ignore true vote counts; to manufacture fraudulent slates of presidential electors in seven states that he had lost; to force his own Vice President to act in contravention of his oath and to instead advance President Trump’s personal interests; and, on January 6, 2021, to direct an angry mob to the United States Capitol to obstruct the congressional certification of the presidential election and then exploit the rioters’ violence to further delay it,” the prosecutor adds.
After Trump won the 2024 presidential election, Smith moved to drop the cases, citing Justice Department policy against prosecuting a sitting president.
Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Source: “AOL Breaking”
