• Smith says investigation proved Trump criminally conspired to overturn 2020 election results
• Former prosecutor describes classified documents stored in bathroom and ballroom at Mar-a-Lago
• Democrats demand public testimony, say hearing would be “devastating” to the president

WASHINGTON, D.C. (TDR) — Former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith told lawmakers in a closed-door interview Wednesday that his team “developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt” that President Donald Trump had criminally conspired to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Smith also said investigators accrued “powerful evidence” Trump broke the law by hoarding classified documents from his first term at his Mar-a-Lago estate and obstructing government efforts to recover the records.

Documents Stored in Bathroom, Ballroom

The private deposition before the House Judiciary Committee gave lawmakers their first opportunity to question Smith about investigations that resulted in criminal charges against Trump between his two terms.

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Smith described evidence showing Trump “willfully retained highly classified documents after he left office in January 2021, storing them at his social club, including in a bathroom and a ballroom where events and gatherings took place.”

“He then repeatedly tried to obstruct justice to conceal his continued retention of those documents.”

The former special counsel said the decision to bring charges “rests entirely with President Trump and his actions, as alleged in the indictments returned by grand juries in two different districts.”

Smith Defends Nonpartisan Approach

Throughout the hours-long testimony, Smith pushed back against Republican claims that his investigations were politically motivated: “I made my decisions in the investigation without regard to President Trump’s political association, activities, beliefs, or candidacy in the 2024 presidential election. We took actions based on what the facts and the law required.”

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Smith told lawmakers he would have pursued the same course regardless of political party: “If asked whether to prosecute a former President based on the same facts today, I would do so regardless of whether the President was a Republican or Democrat.”

Democrats Demand Public Hearing

Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) had subpoenaed Smith to testify privately, accusing him of running a “partisan and politically motivated” probe. Smith’s attorneys noted he had volunteered more than a month earlier to testify publicly — an offer Republicans rebuffed.

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the committee’s ranking member, offered a pointed assessment of why Republicans chose a closed-door format: “Chairman Jordan made an excellent decision in not allowing Jack Smith to testify publicly, because had he done so, it would have been absolutely devastating to the president and all the president’s men involved in the insurrectionary activities of January the sixth.”

Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) demanded Jordan hold a public hearing so the “American people can hear what the special counsel said.”

Cases Ended After Trump’s Reelection

Both criminal cases against Trump ended without trial. The classified documents case was dismissed by Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who ruled Smith’s appointment was unlawful. The January 6 election case was dropped after Trump won the 2024 election, following Justice Department policy against prosecuting a sitting president.

Smith’s attorney, Lanny Breuer, accused the committee of conducting an “unprecedented retribution campaign.” Trump has continued to claim he did nothing wrong and has pardoned over 1,000 individuals charged in connection with the January 6 Capitol riot.

Will Republicans release the full transcript of Smith’s testimony, or will Democrats’ calls for transparency go unanswered?

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