From PBS NewsHour.
Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Wis., questioned former special counsel Jack Smith on Thursday in a hearing focused on Smith’s investigations into President Donald Trump’s mishandling of classified documents and role in the Jan. 6 attack.
Fitzgerald asked Smith about relationships the former special prosecutor had with political figures in former President Joe Biden’s administration, saying they would have known that Smith “would pursue exactly what the Biden administration wanted, which was criminal charges against President Trump.”
“The idea that I would take direction from a political figure about how an investigation should come out — I don’t think anybody who knows me thinks that’s true,” Smith responded.
The hearing is an opportunity for the career prosecutor to publicly offer his inside perspective on the investigations, which both led to unprecedented indictments. Both were scuttled once it was clear that Trump would return to the Oval Office; Department of Justice policy prevents prosecution of a sitting president.
Republicans and the president have accused Smith of pursuing a politically motivated case against the president. Trump has denied wrongdoing while attacking Smith, calling him a "criminal" who ought to be investigated and "put in prison."
Smith defended his investigations in an hourslong closed-door meeting with lawmakers in December, saying he said he had "proof beyond a reasonable doubt" of what his investigations laid out. He’s denied accusations of bias.
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