WASHINGTON — Jack Smith Defends 2020 Election Case as Senate Hearing Opens
Former special counsel Jack Smith told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday that he would still charge Donald Trump on the same facts, even after the cases were dropped when Trump returned to the White House.
Smith secured a four-count federal indictment in 2023 alleging conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights. Prosecutors said the conduct involved pressure on officials, alternate slates of electors, and efforts to disrupt Congress’s certification of the 2020 Electoral College vote on January 6, 2021.
Trump pleaded not guilty and called the case political. After the 2024 election, Smith moved to dismiss both of his Trump prosecutions, citing longstanding Justice Department opinions that a sitting president cannot be federally indicted. The election case was dismissed without prejudice.
Smith’s Volume I report on the election investigation was later released. Volume II, on the classified-documents probe, remains blocked by court order.
Republicans on the committee are using the hearing to examine alleged overreach, including records obtained during the investigation. Democrats say the testimony is about whether a former president can be held to the same criminal standard as anyone else.
Trump has denied wrongdoing throughout and continues to attack Smith in public statements.
The charges were never tried. The legal fight is now over the record Smith left behind, not a pending verdict.
