House Republicans summon Jack Smith for closed-door interview

By Brett Rowland
The Center Square

The House Judiciary Committee issued a subpoena for a closed-door interview with former special counsel Jack Smith, the prosecutor who investigated President Donald Trump during Joe Biden’s presidency.

The Republican-led committee called Smith to testify on Dec. 17 about his prosecutions of Trump.

“The Committee on the Judiciary is continuing to conduct oversight of the operations of the Office of Special Counsel you led – specifically, your team’s prosecutions of President Donald J. Trump and his co-defendants,” House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, wrote in a letter to Smith on Wednesday. “Due to your service as Special Counsel, the Committee believes that you possess information that is vital to its oversight of this matter.”

The letter said that Smith had agreed to appear before the committee at 10 a.m. Dec. 17. The proceedings will be closed to the public even though Smith previously said he would testify publicly before the House and Senate Judiciary Committees.

Smith led the prosecution in multiple federal cases against Trump during Biden’s term. Smith alleged Trump interfered with the 2020 election and illegal retained classified documents.

Rep. Jamie Raskin, the ranking Democrat of the House Judiciary Committee, said Smith should testify in public.

“Chairman Jordan has denied Special Counsel Jack Smith’s offer to speak publicly to the whole Congress and the whole country about his investigations into Donald Trump, instead demanding he comply with a subpoena for a closed-door, private session simply so Republicans can spin, distort, and cherry-pick his remarks through press leaks,” Raskin said in a statement. “What are our colleagues so afraid of, that they won’t let the American people hear directly from the Special Counsel?”

Raskin defended Smith’s work and said the former special counsel followed “well-established legal principles, protocols, and guidance at every step of this investigation into an attempted political coup and insurrection.”

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Smith in November 2022. Smith secured three grand jury indictments against Trump. One in Florida accused Trump of 40 felony counts that alleged he kept sensitive military documents, shared them with people who didn’t have security clearance, and tried to get around the government’s attempts to get them back. In July 2024, Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the classified documents-related criminal case against Trump because she said Smith’s appointment violated the Constitution.

In Washington D.C., Smith secured two grand jury indictments against Trump for alleged election interference. One indictment was filed before the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity, and another was filed after. Smith agreed to dismiss the case after Trump won the 2024 presidential election. Justice Department policy prohibits the prosecution of a sitting president.

Smith’s office spent at least $35.7 million on those federal prosecutions of Trump.

Smith’s attorney, Peter Koski, did not immediately return an email from The Center Square seeking comment on the subpoena.

However, Koski told Fox News that Smith offered six weeks ago to appear voluntarily in a public hearing setting.

“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 told the outlet. “Jack looks forward to meeting with the committee later this month to discuss his work and clarify the various misconceptions about his investigation.”