Jack Smith, the former special counsel who led two federal criminal investigations into President Donald Trump, defended his work before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. He rejected Republican claims that the probes were politically motivated. Smith said his cases followed Justice Department policy and were driven by evidence. "Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in serious crimes against our nation," he told senators.

Smith, a former war crimes prosecutor at The Hague, was appointed special counsel in 2022. In 2023 he brought two indictments against Trump: one over alleged attempts to subvert the 2020 election, and one over the handling of classified documents after Trump left office. Two other state-level cases, in New York and Georgia, were brought by local prosecutors. Only the New York case, which concerned falsified business records, went to trial and ended in felony convictions. The federal cases were dropped after Trump was re-elected in 2024, in line with the Justice Department's policy of not prosecuting a sitting president. Smith resigned shortly before Trump's second inauguration in January 2025. Trump denies all charges and calls the investigations a political "witch-hunt."

Republicans focused on Smith's methods, particularly subpoenas for phone records linked to members of Congress and for financial information from Republican donors and organisations. Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley accused Smith's team of trying to "map out and target the entire Republican Party." Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, whose records were among those obtained, asked why lawmakers were not told. Smith said prosecutors feared evidence could be destroyed or the inquiry interfered with, and that the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section was consulted. The records show the time and length of calls, not their content, and Smith said they helped corroborate contacts between Trump's allies and lawmakers as they sought to delay certification of the 2020 result. Critics of the subpoenas have noted that no law barred such requests at the time.

The exchanges were heated. Senator Josh Hawley called the investigations the "worst abuse of prosecutorial power" in US history and said he would charge Smith with perjury; other Republicans used personal insults. One moment drew particular attention when Senator Eric Schmitt suggested text messages showed Smith attended an Atlanta Hawks game in February 2024, implying contact with Georgia prosecutors. Smith said he was elsewhere, at a University of Maryland women's game featuring Caitlin Clark of the Iowa Hawkeyes. Democrat Amy Klobuchar pointed out the apparent mix-up of teams. Democrats broadly argued the committee was putting the investigators on trial rather than examining the alleged crimes.

Smith also said the current administration had retaliated against those who worked on his cases, arguing that members of his team were fired for "doing their jobs." Three former FBI agents filed a class-action lawsuit in March alleging illegal termination as part of a "retribution campaign." Smith said Trump has threatened him with jail, and added: "I will not be silenced." The hearing is the latest flashpoint in a dispute over the politicisation of the Justice Department. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan has urged the department to prosecute Smith over accusations that he lied to the House in a closed-door session last December.