By Emmanuel Bobby
The Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol would not have occurred without Donald Trump, according to former special counsel Jack Smith, who told lawmakers that the former president was the “most culpable and most responsible person” in the effort to overturn the 2020 election.
The Republican-led House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday released a transcript and video of a closed-door interview Smith gave earlier this month, in which he discussed two investigations involving Trump. During the daylong deposition, Smith repeatedly defended the decision to pursue criminal charges and forcefully rejected claims from Republicans that the investigations were politically motivated.
“The evidence here made clear that President Trump was by a large measure the most culpable and most responsible person in this conspiracy,” Smith said. “These crimes were committed for his benefit. The attack that happened at the Capitol does not happen without him. The other co-conspirators were doing this for his benefit.”
Smith bristled at suggestions that the investigations were intended to stop Trump from returning to the White House in 2024. “I entirely disagree with any characterization that our work was in any way meant to hamper him in the presidential election,” he said.
The deposition, conducted privately on Dec. 17 despite Smith’s request to testify publicly, marked his first appearance on Capitol Hill since leaving the Justice Department last January. Its release sheds new light on the internal reasoning behind two of the most consequential federal investigations in recent history.
Trump was indicted on charges related to conspiring to overturn the 2020 election he lost to Democrat Joe Biden, as well as for willfully retaining classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Both cases were dropped after Trump won the 2024 election, with Smith citing longstanding Justice Department policy barring the prosecution of a sitting president.
Smith emphasized that he believed the evidence in both cases was strong enough to secure convictions. He said the strength of the Jan. 6 case rested in part on testimony from Trump allies and supporters who cooperated with investigators.
“We had an elector in Pennsylvania, a former congressman, who said what they were trying to do was illegal and an attempt to overthrow the government,” Smith said. “Our case was built on Republicans who put their allegiance to the country before the party.”
Smith said such testimony — from Republicans willing to challenge false claims of a stolen election despite personal and political risks — formed what he called the “most powerful” evidence against Trump.
Regarding the Capitol riot itself, Smith said the evidence showed Trump “caused it,” “exploited it,” and could have foreseen the violence.
While Smith said there was no evidence Trump explicitly ordered supporters to riot, he described how Trump spent weeks promoting false fraud claims, inflaming supporters, and directing them to Washington.
“He made false statements to state legislatures and to his supporters, and he was aware in the days leading up to Jan. 6 that his supporters were angry when he invited them and then directed them to the Capitol,” Smith said.
Smith added that once violence erupted, Trump refused to intervene and instead issued a tweet that Smith said endangered the life of then–Vice President Mike Pence. Trump, Smith said, had to be repeatedly urged by aides to take steps to calm the situation.
Republican lawmakers also pressed Smith over revelations that his team obtained phone records of GOP members of Congress who communicated with Trump on Jan. 6. Smith defended the move as lawful and said responsibility lay with Trump.
“Donald Trump directed his co-conspirators to call these people to further delay the proceedings,” Smith said. “If Donald Trump had chosen to call Democratic senators, we would have obtained toll records for Democratic senators.”
Smith said communications between Trump and congressional Republicans were a critical part of the investigation. He cited an interview with former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, who recalled that Rep. Jim Jordan had been in contact with the White House during the riot.
Meadows, Smith said, remarked that he had “never seen Jim Jordan scared of anything,” underscoring how serious the situation had become.
Lawmakers also questioned Smith about claims by former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, who testified that Trump grabbed the steering wheel of his presidential SUV after the Secret Service refused to take him to the Capitol on Jan. 6.
Smith said investigators interviewed the officer in the vehicle, who confirmed Trump was angry and wanted to go to the Capitol, but whose account did not fully match Hutchinson’s secondhand version of events.
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