'I’ve known Jack for decades': Former DOJ official smacks down GOP attacks on special counsel

Former Acting United States Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue on Tuesdayrefuted the attacks on Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith that House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-California) and ex-President Donald Trump escalated following Trump's revelation that he is a target in Smith's investigation into the plot to steal the 2020 election.

"Rich Donoghue, you worked in the Trump administration. You also know Jack Smith. It sounds like leader McCarthy is basically saying Jack Smith is corrupt, that he has been corrupted. What do you make of that?" NewsNation host Dan Abrams asked on Dan Abrams Live.

"Yeah, I think nothing could be further from the truth. For some people, Donald Trump will always be a man who was targeted because he stands up to corrupt elites. And for others, he will always be Benedict Donald, a leader who puts his own interests above the country's," Donoghue responded.

READ MORE: Trump announces he is a 'target' of special counsel’s Jan. 6 probe

Donoghue added that "those people will never be convinced either way, but what we have to focus on are the people who have not made up their minds, and that's what the Justice Department will do, and that's what I think Jack Smith is doing. I don't think he's political. He's not left-wing. He is not an agent of the deep state. His politics would put him right of center, I believe. And look, he secured the first capital sentence in New York in more than fifty years. He's not a bleeding heart liberal."

Abrams then questioned if Donoghue thinks that "it's unfair when some on the right, or some on the far right, have been saying he’s just a tool of the left wing?"

Donoghue replied, "I don't believe that for a minute. I've known Jack for decades. I've seen and worked many, many cases over the years up close. I've seen him work incredibly hard at doing that and what he's always done is follow the facts and apply the law.”

READ MORE: ‘A lousy attorney’: Marjorie Taylor Greene belittles Jack Smith after Trump target letter