Former Special Counsel Jack Smith told lawmakers that President Donald Trump was responsible for the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and staunchly defended his efforts to prosecute the president, according to a newly released transcript of his testimony to the House Judiciary Committee.
"Our view of the evidence was that he caused it and that he exploited it and that it was foreseeable to him," Smith said of Trump's alleged culpability for the Capitol riot.
Smith testified to the committee behind closed doors earlier this month. The committee released video of the deposition and a 255-page transcript on Wednesday, Dec. 31.
During the deposition, Smith adamantly denied that there was any political motivation to the prosecutions, pushing back on the suggestion that he was trying to influence the 2024 election. Trump has repeatedly criticized Smith, calling him "deranged" and a "wacko" who was "used for Crooked Joe Biden’s attack on his Political Opponent."
"I would never take orders from a political leader to hamper another person in an election. That's not who I am," Smith said in the deposition.
