Jack Smith Tells the Senate He Would Charge Trump Again — and Republicans Call Him a ‘Dirtbag’

Jack Smith walked into the Hart Senate Office Building on Tuesday with a prepared statement and left it four and a half hours later with a Republican label he will not shake. The former special counsel told the Senate Judiciary Committee he would charge President Donald Trump again on the same facts. Republicans told him he was a "dirtbag" and worse.

Washington, D.C. — The hearing carried the committee's own title: "Oversight of Jack Smith's Abuse of Authority and the Targeting of Republicans and Related Matters." It began at 9 a.m. ET, per CNN, nearly two months after Smith agreed to appear. Reuters reported he came voluntarily for his second public hearing before Congress on his investigations of Trump. The National News Desk counts it as his third appearance before Congress since Trump's second term began — a December closed-door session, then a January public one.

Four and a Half Hours in the Hart Building

Sen. Chuck Grassley, the Iowa Republican who chairs the panel, gaveled the room in with a statement he had already circulated that morning. "Jack Smith must answer for what he did to hundreds of Republican groups and individuals," Grassley said, per Reuters. Ranking member Dick Durbin, the Illinois Democrat, sat opposite him. Deseret News clocked the session at four-and-a-half hours of testimony. The Washington Examiner noted this was Smith's first time testifying to Senate Judiciary members about the nature of his investigations into Trump prior to Trump's reelection. Smith's team, ABC reported, has seen nearly every prosecutor and line agent associated with the probe either resign or be fired in the nearly two years since the office was shuttered.

“I Stand by My Decisions”

Smith's opening statement, quoted by ABC News and CNN, did not hedge. "I stand by my decisions as special counsel, including my decision to bring charges against President Trump," he said. "I made these decisions without regard to President Trump's political association, activities, beliefs, or candidacy in the 2024 presidential election." He added: "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." And: "Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in serious crimes against our nation." He closed the remarks with a line aimed past the room: "I will not be silenced by the continued threats of prosecution from the President or others."

The Phone Records at the Center of Everything

The subpoenas dominated the morning. Smith said the records "provided powerful 'corroborating evidence' that Trump and his alleged co-conspirators sought to exploit the violence of the day," per the Associated Press and Reuters. Deseret News carried a fuller version: "Those records corroborated evidence that we had that the president, President Donald Trump, and his co-conspirators were seeking to exploit the violence on Jan. 6 in furtherance of their criminal scheme." The Hill recorded what Smith said the records showed: "We gained evidence [of people] reaching out to the White House, asking, 'Please help us. Please stop what's happening. Please have your supporters stop attacking the Capitol.'" The data are toll records — date, length and time of calls, not content, per AP and Roll Call.

“Every Name on It Is a Republican”

Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas put the subpoena count on the record. "In all, you issued 197 subpoenas to 34 individuals at least, and 163 businesses, and you sought records on at least 430 Republican individuals and entities," Cruz said, per The Hill. Then the line that framed the Republican case: "If you look at the list, there is one thing that is consistent. Every name on it is a Republican." Cruz also told Smith he had subpoenaed records tied to his own phones, personal and office, and obtained an order to keep him from knowing. "Javert from Les Mis would look at you with astonishment," Cruz said, per The Guardian.

The Basketball Game That Wasn’t

Sen. Eric Schmitt of Missouri accused Smith of flying to Atlanta in February 2024 for a Hawks game while Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis faced scrutiny over her relationship with a special prosecutor in the Georgia election case. AP reported Smith appeared perplexed, denied traveling to Georgia, and then clarified he had attended an Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball game in Maryland — Caitlin Clark's team. The Guardian confirmed Smith denied ever attending an Atlanta Hawks game. Daily Montanan recorded Schmitt's setup: "I don't think you know that we have this stuff, so I'll give you a moment to process it so you don't perjure yourself." Smith asked to see it again. Schmitt moved on: "I think you've already perjured yourself."

“You Will Go Down as a Total Dirtbag”

Schmitt did not stop there. "You have weaponized the Department of Justice against political enemies to an extent that has never happened in the history of this country," he said, per Fox 17 and The National News Desk. "You will go down as a total dirtbag." Daily Montanan carried the fuller close: "You may think you're a hero in this story, but let me tell you something, you're a villain. ... You will go down as a total dirtbag." AP reported the testimony did nothing to appease Smith's critics, who called him a "villain" and a "dirtbag," worse than Richard Nixon. Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana told Smith, per Fox 17: "Anybody who knows a law book from a J.Crew catalog knows that this violates the Constitution... you make me want to throw up in my mouth."

What the Democrats Said Back

Durbin accused Republicans of spreading "baseless conspiracy theories" to "whitewash" the history of Trump's election loss and the Capitol attack, per AP. "The aspersions cast on Mr. Smith, nonstop, are petty, personal and political," Durbin said. "They are nothing but a smoke screen to distract from the president's own clear, unlawful conduct." Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey called the hearing "a farce," per The Guardian, and said Republicans were "gas lighting the American people" by "continuing to perpetuate the big lie in America that Donald Trump was somehow cheated out of a 2020 election," per ABC. Booker and Delaware's Chris Coons highlighted the firings of Justice Department staffers who worked on Smith's team.

The Numbers Grassley Put on the Record

Grassley disclosed at the outset that investigators obtained at least 4,782 donor checks, including contributions to Trump as small as $1, per the Washington Examiner. Deseret News reported he released documents throughout the hearing showing Smith obtained journalist communications with government sources, that the National Archives was involved in the classified documents probe, and that Smith "secretly subpoenaed" those checks from Americans who gave mainly small-dollar donations to Trump between September 2019 and August 2023. On member records, the counts differ. Reuters and Deseret News cite 44 members whose communications were reviewed. The Hill cites "a dozen Republican senators" whose call logs were obtained. Raw Story, quoting Just the News, cites Grassley saying 16 members. The reporting does not agree on what is being counted.

How Two Prosecutions Ended Without a Trial

Then-Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Smith days after Trump announced his 2022 reelection campaign, handing him two existing grand jury probes, per Roll Call. The first covered the push to overturn the 2020 loss — false electors, the pressure on states, the attack on the Capitol. The second covered hundreds of classified documents taken to Mar-a-Lago. CNN reported Smith filed federal charges in both, then withdrew both after Trump's 2024 victory, citing Justice Department rules against prosecuting a sitting president. Daily Montanan noted the Supreme Court agreed in early 2024 that Trump had immunity for actions surrounding the 2020 election, and that Judge Aileen Cannon threw out the documents case in July 2024, finding Smith was illegally appointed.

What the Hearing Left Unsettled

Smith told Sen. John Kennedy he informed Garland twice of his intent to prosecute the former president, per Daily Montanan. Pressed on whether the Biden White House directed the Justice Department, Smith said he had "no idea about that," per AP, and that the decision was his own. He said he consulted Justice Department experts on constitutional limits and got approval from the Public Integrity Section, per AP and The Hill. Roll Call reported Schmitt pressed him on why his team ignored PIN advice on a second indictment within 60 days of Election Day; Smith said PIN initially rejected a first draft before approving a later one. Reuters reported no charges against Smith have been filed. Attorney General Todd Blanche told Congress over the summer the department was actively investigating a criminal referral, per Fox 17 — Smith's attorneys have called the referral "spurious."

The committee took no vote and issued no finding. Grassley closed by accusing Smith's team of using "thuggish tactics to target the entire Republican political apparatus," per the Washington Examiner. Smith's parting argument, per Deseret News, was that his investigation "was predicated upon Donald Trump preying on party loyalty," and that "the strongest witnesses, the people who were the difference between the rule of law standing and not in our case, were Republicans." He named Rusty Bowers and Mike Pence. Schmitt, for his part, was cheered on right-wing media afterward — the host of the Charlie Kirk Show told him, per CNN, "You caught him out on this NBA game in Atlanta ... It was a great moment, so good for you on that." No apology followed.

By Jessica Ali, Staff Writer

This article was produced with AI-assisted research and editorial support. Sources: ABC News, the Associated Press, Reuters, The Guardian, Roll Call, The Hill, Deseret News, the Daily Montanan, the Washington Examiner, Fox 17 / The National News Desk, CNN and the Senate Judiciary Committee.