The Republican-led House Judiciary Committee has issued a subpoena to former special counsel Jack Smith, the prosecutor who brought two federal cases against Donald Trump, even though Smith had already volunteered to appear in an open session.
Committee chair Jim Jordan said Smith has “information that is vital” to the panel’s oversight work. He also demanded documents related to both federal investigations, summoning Smith for a closed-door interview later this month.
Smith oversaw the case accusing Trump of trying to overturn the 2020 election and his actions surrounding the January 6 Capitol attack, as well as the classified documents case tied to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort. Both prosecutions were dropped after Trump’s return to the presidency in 2024, due to DOJ policy barring the prosecution of a sitting president.
Trump has repeatedly framed the indictments as a politically driven “witch-hunt”.
Smith’s lawyer, Peter Koski, criticised the decision to hold private testimony rather than let the public hear Smith directly.
“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, adding that Smith intends to cooperate and “clarify misconceptions” about his work.
Republicans have recently zeroed in on Smith’s investigation tactics, particularly reports that his team reviewed phone data of lawmakers around January 6.
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