Politics

Former special counsel Jack Smith appeared unrattled nearly four hours into his testimony Thursday before the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee detailing the two criminal investigations he led of President Donald Trump.

Smith faced sharp questions from Republicans as they tried to paint him as a partisan prosecutor, grilling him over subpoenas that were issued to collect phone logs from GOP senators as part of his investigation into Trump’s attempts to challenge the results of the 2020 election. They also pointed to the gag orders Smith’s team requested against Trump, which Smith said was done to protect witnesses.

Smith fired back, refuting Republican accusations that he had brought the cases against Trump for political retribution. “I have been an apolitical public servant for 30 years,” Smith said. “I’ve prosecuted cases against Democrats and Republicans all the same.”