• Trump posted on Truth Social that Smith destroyed lives under guise of legitimacy and should not practice law
• Former special counsel defended prosecutions during first public testimony before GOP-led House Judiciary Committee
• President's attack marks latest in years-long campaign calling Smith criminal who belongs in prison

WASHINGTON (TDR) — President Donald Trump launched a blistering attack on former special counsel Jack Smith during Smith's first public testimony before Congress Thursday, calling him a "deranged animal" who should not be allowed to practice law while claiming the prosecutor was being decimated by Republican questioning.

Trump posted on Truth Social as Smith appeared before the House Judiciary Committee to defend his criminal prosecutions of the president.

"Deranged Jack Smith is being DECIMATED before Congress. It was over when they discussed his past failures and unfair prosecutions," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

"He destroyed many lives under the guise of legitimacy. Jack Smith is a deranged animal, who shouldn't be allowed to practice Law," the president continued.

Trump called for Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate Smith's conduct.

"If he were a Republican, his license would be taken away from him, and far worse! Hopefully the Attorney General is looking at what he's done, including some of the crooked and corrupt witnesses that he was attempting to use in his case against me," Trump wrote.

"The whole thing was a Democrat SCAM — A big price should be paid by them for what they have put our Country through!" he added.

History Of Attacks On Special Counsel

Trump's latest assault marks the continuation of a years-long campaign of verbal attacks against the prosecutor who charged him with federal crimes.

The president has repeatedly called Smith a criminal who ought to be investigated and put in prison. Earlier this week, Trump referred to Smith using profane language.

"And removed his handpicked radical-left Marxist prosecutors from the Department of Justice, like deranged Jack 'Sick' Smith. He's a sick son of a bitch," Trump told reporters Tuesday.

The CBC reported Trump has hurled numerous epithets at Smith, who served in the federal government under both Republican and Democratic administrations.

"Trump has hurled a string of epithets at Smith, who worked in the federal government in the past in both Republican and Democratic administrations, calling him a 'Radical left Marxist prosecutor' and a 'sick son of a bitch' at the White House on Tuesday," CBC News reported.

Trump has also threatened to fire Smith within seconds of taking office and previously called for him to be prosecuted.

Smith Defends Trump Prosecutions

During his testimony, Smith delivered a robust defense of his decision to bring criminal charges against Trump in both the election interference and classified documents cases.

"I'm proud of the work my team did, and I appreciate the opportunity to appear here today to correct false and misleading narratives about our work," Smith said in his opening statement.

"During my tenure as special counsel, we followed Justice Department policies, we observed legal requirements, and took actions based on the facts and the law," he continued.

Smith emphasized he acted without political motivation despite Republican allegations.

"I made my decisions without regard to President Trump's political association, activities, beliefs, or candidacy in the 2024 election," Smith stated.

"President Trump was charged because the evidence established that he willfully broke the law, the very laws he took an oath to uphold," he added.

The former special counsel told lawmakers he stood by his prosecutions.

"Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in criminal activity. 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 Democrat or a Republican," Smith said.

"No one, no one should be above the law in this country and the law required that he be held to account, so that is what I did," he continued.

Jordan Characterizes Probes As Political Weaponization

Republican Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio opened the hearing by framing Smith's investigations as politically motivated attacks designed to prevent Trump from winning the presidency.

"It was always about politics and to get President Trump, they were willing to do just about anything," Jordan said in his opening statement.

Jordan portrayed Smith's probes as part of a decade-long campaign against Trump.

"Democrats have been going after President Trump for 10 years," Jordan said.

The Ohio Republican condemned Smith's investigation as culmination of weaponization against the president.

"In spite of the left and the weaponization efforts of Jim Comey, Alvin Bragg, Fani Willis and Jack Smith, we the people saw through it all, and we elected President Trump twice," Jordan declared.

Jordan criticized Smith's team for obtaining phone records from Republican lawmakers as part of the January 6 investigation and securing a temporary gag order against Trump.

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He characterized Smith's actions as an attempt to stop Trump from running in 2024.

Raskin Defends Smith's Work

Ranking Democrat Jamie Raskin of Maryland rejected Jordan's characterization during his opening statement.

"It was always about politics," Jordan said.

"Maybe for them," Raskin retorted.

Raskin praised Smith for following facts and law during the investigation. Earlier this month, following Smith's closed-door testimony, Raskin said Smith answered every question to the satisfaction of reasonable-minded people.

The Maryland Democrat has accused Republicans of attempting to undermine Smith while Democrats hope to elicit damaging testimony about Trump's conduct.

Smith Addresses Republican Criticisms

Smith defended his team's decision to obtain phone records of Republican lawmakers who were in contact with Trump around January 6.

"The conspiracy that we were investigating, it was relevant to get toll records to understand the scope of that conspiracy, who they were seeking to coerce, who they were seeking to influence, who was seeking to help them," Smith explained.

He noted the records contained only metadata about calls, not content, and represent common practice in complex investigations.

Smith placed responsibility for the investigation on Trump's actions.

"Well, I think who should be accountable for this is Donald Trump. These records are people, in the case of the senators, Donald Trump directed his co-conspirators to call these people to further delay the proceedings. He chose to do that," Smith told lawmakers in December.

"If Donald Trump had chosen to call a number of Democratic senators, we would have gotten toll records for Democratic senators," he added.

January 6 Would Not Have Occurred Without Trump

In his December closed-door testimony, Smith characterized Trump as the most culpable figure in the conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election.

"The evidence here made clear that President Trump was by a large measure the most culpable and most responsible person in this conspiracy," Smith stated.

The January 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol "does not happen" without Trump, Smith told lawmakers.

During public testimony Thursday, Smith explained why he chose not to charge Trump with insurrection despite believing courts found there was an insurrection.

"With respect to the charge of insurrection, we did not charge that," Smith said.

"While I believe courts found that there was an insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, and that a reasonable prosecutor could interpret the evidence to support that charge, I chose not to do that," he explained.

"Looking at the facts in the law, I thought the charges we brought were appropriate given the evidence that we had," Smith added.

Republican Witnesses Provided Powerful Testimony

Smith noted that some of the most powerful witnesses in his case were Republicans who supported and campaigned for Trump.

"Some of the most powerful witnesses were witnesses who, in fact, were fellow Republicans who had voted for Donald Trump, who had campaigned for him and, who wanted him to win the election. These included state officials, people who worked on his campaign and advisors," Smith said.

"There were witnesses who I felt would be very strong witnesses, including, for example, the secretary of state in Georgia who told Donald Trump the truth, told him things that he did not want to hear and put him on notice that what he was saying was false," Smith added.

Warning About Rule Of Law Erosion

Smith used his testimony to warn Americans about taking the rule of law for granted.

"After nearly 30 years of public service, including in international settings, I have seen how the rule of law can erode," Smith said.

"My fear is that we have seen the rule of law function in our country for so long that many of us have come to take it for granted," he continued.

"The rule of law is not self-executing — it depends on our collective commitment to apply it. It requires dedicated service on behalf of others, especially when that service is difficult and comes with costs," he stated.

"Our willingness to pay those costs is what tests and defines our commitment to the rule of law and to this wonderful country," Smith concluded.

Retribution Against Prosecutors And Agents

Smith condemned what he characterized as retribution campaign by Trump and allies against investigators.

"President Trump has sought to seek revenge against career prosecutors, FBI agents, and support staff simply for having worked on these cases," Smith said.

"To vilify and seek retribution against these people is wrong. Those dedicated public servants are the best of us, and it has been a privilege to serve with them," he added.

The hearing unfolded against the backdrop of an ongoing Trump administration retribution campaign targeting investigators who scrutinized the president.

Cases Dropped After Trump Victory

Smith charged Trump with multiple felonies in 2023, including conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding in the election interference case.

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The classified documents case was dismissed when U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, ruled Smith's appointment was unlawful.

Smith dropped the election interference case after Trump won reelection in November 2024, citing Justice Department policy barring prosecution of sitting presidents.

Testifying Thursday was a significant risk for Smith given Trump's repeated calls for his prosecution.

The New York Times reported in late 2025 that Trump started an administrative process to seek up to $230 million from what he viewed as malicious prosecutions.

"Trump wants to be paid, reportedly up to $230M, for past 'malicious' prosecutions into his conduct," CBC News reported.

Trump confirmed the report by stating in the Oval Office he was "probably owed a lot of money."

Can a former president who faces criminal charges for attempting to overturn an election and retaining classified documents credibly claim prosecutorial persecution when grand juries in two districts returned indictments against him?

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