Jack Smith to Testify on Trump Probes Before House Panel

Former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith is scheduled to testify publicly before the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday, marking a high-profile congressional hearing into the two criminal investigations he led against President Donald Trump during the 2024 presidential campaign.

The session, chaired by Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, follows Smith's closed-door deposition with the committee last month. It centers on the probes into Trump's alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election results and his retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. Both cases resulted in indictments against Trump in 2023, but Smith and his team discontinued them after Trump's reelection, citing longstanding Justice Department policy that sitting presidents cannot face federal indictment.

In his prepared opening statement, Smith plans to reaffirm his decisions, stating, "Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in criminal activity." He will add that he would pursue prosecution under the same circumstances today, "regardless of whether that president was a Republican or a Democrat," emphasizing, "No one...