WASHINGTON — Former special counsel Jack Smith told lawmakers on Capitol Hill that President Donald Trump is responsible for his criminal indictments relating to the Jan. 6 insurrection and his possession of classified documents.
Republicans hauled Smith in for a closed-door deposition as part of their yearslong effort to downplay the president’s actions and portray the cases against him as a purely political witch hunt.
“The decision to bring charges against President Trump was mine, but the basis for those charges rests entirely with President Trump and his actions, as alleged in the indictments returned by grand juries in two different districts,” Smith told lawmakers, according to excerpts of his opening remarks obtained by HuffPost.
Smith led a team that won grand jury indictments against Trump for trying to overthrow the 2020 election result, for hoarding classified documents after leaving the White House and for obstructing justice in an attempt to hide the material from investigators. He had offered to testify in public, but House Republicans opted for private testimony.
“I hate that the Republicans did not want to make sure that this was a public hearing, but it looks like it’s going to be a good one,” Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) told HuffPost during an early break in the deposition.
