Jack Smith is an American prosecutor who served as U.S. Special Counsel from November 2022 until November 2024. He was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland, to oversee federal investigations into Donald Trump.
With expertise in war-crimes and public-corruption, Smith previously led the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section. He also served at The Hague, specializing in international crimes.
With respect to Donald Trump, Smith led two major cases. One examined his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The other involved classified documents retained and exploited after he left office.
Jack Smith finished his work as special counsel on January 10, 2025, after submitting his final report to the Department of Justice.
Official deposition now on record
Jack Smith’s official deposition was taken on December 17, 2025, during a closed-door interview before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee. Smith had requested this interview be conducted in public, but the request was denied.
Smith’s testimony lasted eight hours. It was quietly released to the public on December 31, 2025, via a 255-page redacted PDF transcript, and eight hours of unedited video.
The deposition focused on four main areas: the 2020 election interference prosecution, the January 6 Capitol attack in 2021, the classified documents case, and allegations that Smith’s work represented political bias or “weaponization” of the DOJ.
Smith emphasized that all prosecutorial decisions were his. Made under the authority granted to him by the Attorney General. And grounded in evidence and federal law. He stated he would have pursued the same cases regardless of political party or candidacy status.
Interfering in elections
Regarding the 2020 election interference case, Smith testified that his office developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that Trump engaged in criminal activity to overturn the results of the election. His aim was to keep power, by obstructing its lawful transfer.
Smith explained the investigation was not about whether Trump believed the election was stolen. But whether knowingly false claims were used to interfere with official government processes. Including the certification of electoral votes.
A key legal point Smith addressed was the distinction between protected speech and fraud. He testified that while the First Amendment protects political speech – even false statements – it does not protect knowingly false statements used to target lawful government functions. This reasoning formed a central pillar of the indictment.
Attack on the US Capitol
Smith devoted significant testimony to January 6, 2021, describing the Capitol attack as a foreseeable consequence of Trump’s actions. He testified that the attack “does not happen without” Trump. Calling him the most culpable individual in the conspiracy.
Smith stated that Trump knowingly spread false claims of election fraud. He summoned supporters to Washington, directed them toward the Capitol, and failed to act to stop violence once it began. He testified that a tweet issued by Trump during the riot endangered the life of then-Vice President Mike Pence.
Smith noted that the strength of the January 6 case was reinforced by cooperating witnesses from within Trump’s own political orbit. As well as officials and individuals involved in the fake-elector effort. Some of whom testified that they knew the plan was unlawful.
Of the nearly 80 witnesses that Smith interviewed, every single one was a Republican colleague, ally, or supporter of Donald Trump. Not one testimony was used from Democrats.
Retention of classified documents
On the classified documents case, Smith testified that evidence showed Donald Trumpwillfully retained highly classified national security documents after leaving office. He also took steps to conceal them from investigators, which constitutes obstruction of justice.
Smith’s deposition presents a detailed, methodical defense of prosecutorial decisions anchored in evidence, legal precedent, and institutional norms. It offers one of the most direct explanations to date of how the federal cases against Trump were built.
Read the full deposition here.
Quotes from Jack Smith
“Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 election and to prevent the lawful transfer of power.”
“The decision to bring charges against President Trump was mine, but the basis for those charges rests entirely with President Trump and his actions.”
“I made my decisions in the investigation without regard to President Trump’s political association, activities, beliefs, or candidacy in the 2024 election.”
“He (Trump) was free to say that he thought he won the election. He was even free to say falsely that he won the election. But what he was not free to do was violate Federal law and use knowingly false statements about election fraud to target a lawful government function.”
“The attack that happened at the Capitol … does not happen without him (Trump).” Smith went on to say that Trump is “the most culpable and most responsible person in this conspiracy.”
“Our view of the evidence was that he caused it and that he exploited it and that it was foreseeable to him.”
“Once the attack on the Capitol happened, he refused to stop it … he instead issued a tweet that without question in my mind endangered the life of his own vice president.”
Smith described the classified-documents evidence as “powerful evidence that showed that President Trump willfully retained highly classified documents” and “repeatedly tried to obstruct justice to conceal his continued retention.”
