WATCH: Jack Smith’s entire opening statement outlining Trump’s willful criminal conduct”

Former Special Counsel **Jack Smith** delivered a pointed defense of his investigations into President Donald Trump during his first public testimony before the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday, January 22, 2026.

In his opening statement, Smith stood firmly by his decision to bring criminal charges against Trump in two separate cases—one related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election results and another involving the retention of classified documents.

**”Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in criminal activity,”** Smith declared.

He emphasized that Trump “willfully broke the very laws he swore to uphold” as president, describing the actions as a deliberate scheme rather than political disputes.

Smith highlighted that grand juries in Washington, D.C., and Florida returned indictments based on the evidence, and he asserted that declining to prosecute would have been a failure of his duty.

“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 Republican or Democrat,” he added, rejecting claims of partisan bias.

The testimony comes amid intensified Republican scrutiny of the prior special counsel probes, now that Trump is back in office. Smith condemned “false narratives” surrounding the investigations and reiterated that no one is above the law.

🚨🔥WATCH: Jack Smith just delivered a full opening statement laying out Trump’s willful criminal scheme to overturn the 2020 election.

Not “politics.” Not “controversy.”

Pressure state officials. Fake electors.
Coerce the VP. Send the mob. Exploit the violence.

This was a… pic.twitter.com/EGaXtbOPRx

— Brian Allen (@allenanalysis) January 22, 2026

**WATCH: Jack Smith’s entire opening statement outlining Trump’s willful criminal conduct**—the full remarks have been widely shared across media platforms, providing a detailed outline of the evidence that prosecutors said demonstrated Trump’s intentional violations in both the election interference and documents cases.

The hearing, requested by Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), is expected to feature sharp questioning from lawmakers on both sides as the political fallout from Smith’s work continues.