Former special counsel Jack Smith is scheduled to testify in a closed-door session before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) signaled his antagonistic approach when speaking with reporters ahead of the hearing.
Smith had requested a public hearing, which Jordan declined. The closed-door session will focus on Smith's investigations into Donald Trump, which were discontinued following the president's re-election.
According to Politico, Smith faces significant constraints regarding what he can disclose to the committee. Reporters Hailey Fuchs and Kyle Cheney note that these limitations could provoke confrontations with Republicans seeking to place Smith in legal jeopardy. "Smith must navigate Byzantine secrecy laws and rules that limit what he can disclose to lawmakers. All the while, Republicans are looking to trip him up and incriminate him, to portray him as a tool of a weaponized Justice Department — an allegation they've brandished amid recent revelations that Smith obtained phone records of at least eight GOP senators as part of his probe into Trump's efforts to subvert the 2020 election results."
Jordan indicated he intends to pressure Smith regardless of legal restrictions. He told reporters, "What they did all along, everything was wrong … a lot of things that were just not normal course of investigation or prosecution. If he comes in and doesn't answer questions, that's going to be a problem."
As a former DOJ prosecutor, Smith is limited in what he can reveal. While the department issued a waiver, uncertainty remains about its scope.
Additional complications arise from a Florida federal judge's 11-month prohibition on releasing details from Smith's classified documents investigation report. Trump has urged the judge to maintain this restriction indefinitely, further constraining what Smith can legally discuss about that probe.
House Judiciary Committee Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) countered Jordan's approach, stating, "They are trying to get him on the fast road to one of their ridiculous prosecutions."
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