Former special counsel Jack Smith wasted no time declaring that President Donald Trump "broke the law" at a congressional hearing Thursday.
Speaking before the House Judiciary Committee, Smith insisted that he loved his country and "deeply" believed in the rule of law.
"I am not a politician, and I have no partisan loyalties," the former prosecutor insisted. "I made my decisions without regard to President Trump's political association, activities, beliefs, or candidacy in the 2024 election. President Trump was charged because the evidence established that he willfully broke the law, the very laws he took an oath to uphold."
"Rather than accept his defeat in the 2020 election, President Trump engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results and prevent the lawful transfer of power," he continued. "After leaving office in January of 21, President Trump illegally kept classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago Social Club and repeatedly tried to obstruct justice to conceal his continued retention of those documents. Highly sensitive national security information was held in a ballroom and a bathroom."
Smith said he stood by his decision to charge Trump.
"Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in criminal activity," he remarked. "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."