Jack Smith, the former special counsel who twice indicted the president, will tell senators on Tuesday that he continues to “stand by” his decision to prosecute Donald Trump.
“If asked whether to prosecute a former President based on the same facts today, I would do so regardless of whether that President was a Republican or a Democrat,” Smith will say, according to a copy of his prepared remarks.
His testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee will address his investigations into Trump’s retention of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago and his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Both cases were dismissed before trial.
Trump has denied wrongdoing and, along with his allies, has portrayed Smith’s investigations as politically motivated. But Smith will reject that characterization, saying the charges “were the result of the evidence.”
Smith will also warn that Trump’s attacks are weakening the justice system. People are “threatened with criminal investigation because they are perceived to have opposed the President,” he will say, and career employees who worked on his investigations were fired because of their “unwavering commitment to the fair and impartial administration of justice.”
“I will not be silenced by the continued threats of prosecution from the President or others,” Smith will say.
