The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday released the transcript and video of its deposition with former special counsel Jack Smith, who led two failed prosecutions of President Donald Trump.
The deposition took place on Dec. 17 in Washington, D.C. Smith was appointed to his former role in 2022 by then-Attorney General Merrick Garland and resigned earlier this year, less than two weeks before Trump resumed office and just after Smith completed a report that found that the department had enough evidence to convict Trump of election interference by working to overthrow his 2020 election loss to former president Joe Biden.
The more than 250-page deposition, released on New Year’s Eve, features Smith discussing the two cases he pursued against Trump, relating to election interference and the classified documents the former president took to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida after the end of his first term in office.
In the deposition, Smith referred to the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, when a huge mob of Trump supporters invaded the U.S. Capitol, attacking police officers, to try to stop Congress from certifying the electoral votes in the 2020 election, won by Biden. Smith called the riot, which led to several deaths, “an attack on the structure of our democracy in which over 140 heroic law enforcement officers were assaulted,” and said that Trump “was by a large measure the most culpable and most responsible person in this conspiracy.”
He rejected the allegations — which have come from Trump and other Republicans — that he had political motivations in pursuing the election interference case against Trump. The president has called Smith “a thug,” “a failed prosecutor,” and “a bad man, an evil man.”
“These crimes were committed for his benefit. The attack that happened at the Capitol, part of this case, does not happen without him,” Smith said. “The other co-conspirators were doing this for his benefit. So in terms of why we would pursue a case against him, I entirely disagree with any characterization that our work was in any way meant to hamper him in the Presidential election.”
Smith also said he expects further attacks from the president. “I am eyes wide open that this President will seek retribution against me if he can,” Smith said. “I know that.” Read the full transcript of the deposition below. This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Julianne McShane is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW. Recommended
