by Sharon Rondeau
(Jan. 22, 2026) — During public testimony to the House Judiciary Committee Thursday, former “Special Counsel” Jack Smith said politics did not enter into his decision to bring charges against then-former President Donald J. Trump in two criminal matters.
The “Arctic Frost” probe focused on Trump’s claims that he did not lose the 2020 election, which Trump continues to make to this day.
On Wednesday at the World Economic Forum (WEF), Trump said in his address that “people will soon be prosecuted” for conduct resulting in the “rigged” outcome.
“It wasn’t immediately clear what he meant,” PBS reported.
Last month, Trump told Politico that the evidence the White House has collected on the 2020 contest would be released “over the next couple of months.”
An August 8, 2022 FBI raid conducted on Trump’s Florida resort and home, Mar-a-Lago, gave way to the second case, colloquially known as the “Classified Documents” investigation, alleging Trump illegally retained documents from his first term in office.
Smith ultimately withdrew both cases after Trump won the 2024 election in accordance with Justice Department policy, Smith testified.
At 11:40 a.m. EST, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA48) sharply criticized Smith for charging Trump with a crime as a result of Trump’s 2020 election claims, stating that Americans can “think” or believe what they wish on any issue without being prosecuted.
Smith agreed with Issa’s premise that differing opinions are protected by “the Constitution.”
Prior to Issa’s questioning, Smith responded to a question from Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY12) that as he always has, he “followed the facts and the law” during his investigations.
In 2023 Smith sought to obtain the private phone records of then-Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy and now-former Rep. Louie Gohmert, and in 2022, he subpoenaed the phone records of others in Congress along with a request for a “non-disclosure” order from the presiding magistrate judge, David A. Baker, with which Baker complied, for which Issa pointedly accused Smith of “spying” on members of Congress.
Smith did not admit to “spying.”
Issa asked Smith why he insisted on non-disclosures of the subpoenas, asking if McCarthy was considered “a flight risk.”
On that point, Smith answered in the negative.
In a November 20, 2025 press release, the House Judiciary Committee, led by a Republican majority, wrote:
In response to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan’s request for documents and communications between Verizon Wireless and former Special Counsel Jack Smith, newly obtained documents reveal that the Biden-Harris Administration Justice Department obtained Chairman Jordan’s phone records over a two-year period.
The Biden-Harris Justice Department obtained a grand jury subpoena issued on April 25, 2022—without Chairman Jordan’s knowledge—for “all call detail records” beginning on January 1, 2020, including but not limited to records for inbound and outbound calls, text messages, direct-connect communications, voicemail messages, addresses, as well as sources of payments, IP addresses, and location information.
The subpoena was accompanied by a nondisclosure order asserting that notifying Chairman Jordan of the existence of the subpoena could “result in flight from prosecution, destruction of or tampering with evidence, intimidation of potential witnesses, and serious jeopardy to the investigation.”
The Arctic Frost investigation, which launched on April 13, 2022, formed the basis of Smith’s election case against President Donald Trump. Under Smith’s leadership, the Biden-Harris Justice Department secretly obtained the phone records of over a dozen sitting Republican Members of Congress.
Chairman Jordan’s phone records were requested by Timothy Duree, a Justice Department prosecutor who worked with Thomas Windom, one of Smith’s top prosecutors who was recently referred to the DOJ for criminal prosecution by the Committee.
Several members of Smith’s Special Counsel team failed to fully cooperate with the Committee’s investigation into the Biden-Harris Justice Department’s weaponization of the rule of law. The disturbing tactics employed by Smith’s team during its partisan and politically motivated prosecutions of President Trump undermined the integrity of the criminal justice system. As Special Counsel, Smith was ultimately responsible for the prosecutorial misconduct and constitutional abuses committed by his office.
Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH4) interjected, telling Issa his time had expired.
“I yield back in disgust at this witness,” Issa replied.
“Our investigation yielded that Donald Trump was not looking for honest answers…he was looking to stay in power,” Smith later asserted to a question from Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA18).
Smith further said Trump made the statements that he won the election with “knowing falsity.”
Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX26) queried Smith on why Smith indicated on his subpoena for McCarthy’s personal “toll” records that he should not be informed of the subpoena via a “non-disclosure order.”
Gill pressed Smith on the “risk” he was “violating the speech and debate clause” of the Constitution by subpoenaing other members’ phone records.
Smith answered a question from Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN9) that he particularly feared “Donald Trump” would “target” witnesses for the prosecution. “The integrity of the investigation,” Smith said, needed to be “protected.”
To Eric Swalwell, Smith testified that Trump was “most responsible” for “what happened on January 6th” at the U.S. Capitol.
In response to Smith’s testimony, Trump responded on Truth Social by terming Smith “deranged.”
At 12:26 p.m., Rep. Barry Moore (R-AL1) told Smith he was “illegally appointed,” as declared by U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon in July 2024, as he was not confirmed by the U.S. Senate, but rather, appointed by then-Attorney General Merrick Garland.