House Judiciary Committee Subpoenas Jack Smith Amid Trump Investigations

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican-led House Judiciary Committee has subpoenaed former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith for a closed-door interview later this month. This decision comes despite Smith’s earlier offer to appear in an open hearing regarding his prosecutions of President Donald Trump.

Rep. Jim Jordan, the committee’s Republican chairman, directed Smith to appear for a private deposition on Dec. 17. In a letter dated Wednesday, Jordan stated, “Due to your service as Special Counsel, the Committee believes that you possess information that is vital to its oversight of this matter.” He also requested Smith to produce records in addition to his testimony.

Smith’s attorney, Peter Koski, expressed disappointment that the offer for an open hearing was rejected. “We are disappointed that offer was rejected, and that the American people will be denied the opportunity to hear directly from Jack on these topics,” Koski said. He added that Smith looks forward to discussing his work during the deposition.

Smith was appointed in 2022 to oversee investigations into Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and the handling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. His team has filed charges in both investigations, although Smith recently abandoned the cases after Trump was re-elected, adhering to legal opinions that prevent the indictment of a sitting president.

Republicans have sought interviews with Smith’s team amid recent revelations that they analyzed the phone records of select GOP lawmakers during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots. However, Smith’s legal team clarified that the records obtained did not include conversation contents but merely captured call numbers, times, and duration.

“Mr. Smith’s actions as Special Counsel were consistent with the decisions of a prosecutor who has devoted his career to following the facts and the law, without fear or favor,” his lawyers stated in a letter to lawmakers. “While Mr. Smith’s prosecutions of President Trump have predictably been politicized by others, politics never influenced his decision making.”