Jack Smith Defends Trump Prosecutions in Released Deposition Transcript, With Public Testimony Set for Next Week pssss
Jack Smith Defends Trump Prosecutions in Released Deposition Transcript, With Public Testimony Set for Next Week
WASHINGTON, Jan. 20, 2026 — Former special counsel Jack Smith offered a forceful defense of his investigations into Donald J. Trump during a closed-door deposition before the House Judiciary Committee last month, asserting that evidence showed the president had engaged in a “criminal scheme” to overturn the 2020 election results. The Republican-led committee released a redacted transcript and video of the nearly eight-hour session on Dec. 31, 2025, shedding light on Smith’s rationale for the now-dismissed federal cases.
In his opening statement, Mr. Smith told lawmakers: “Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and to prevent the lawful transfer of power.” He emphasized that the decision to prosecute was his alone, based on Trump’s actions and supported by grand juries in two jurisdictions, and that he had “zero regrets” about the charges. “If Trump didn’t want to be indicted, he shouldn’t have broken the law,” Mr. Smith added, according to the transcript.
Mr. Smith, who resigned in November 2025 after Mr. Trump’s re-election, led two federal cases against the president: one involving efforts to subvert the 2020 election and another related to the retention of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. Both were dismissed by Attorney General Pam Bondi shortly after Mr. Trump took office, citing Justice Department policy against prosecuting a sitting president. He reiterated during the Dec. 17, 2025, deposition that he would bring the same charges today based on the facts, dismissing suggestions of political motivation.
The session, subpoenaed by Chairman Jim Jordan, Republican of Ohio, focused on allegations of Justice Department weaponization under the Biden administration. Republicans pressed Mr. Smith on issues like subpoenaing lawmakers’ phone records and potential First Amendment violations, with some questioning whether the prosecutions criminalized political speech. Mr. Smith defended his actions, noting he had offered to testify publicly but was required to appear in private. Critics, including some Democrats, have called the closed format a “travesty,” arguing for greater transparency.
Mr. Smith is scheduled to testify publicly before the same committee on Jan. 22, in a hearing titled “Oversight of the Office of Special Counsel Jack Smith.” The appearance follows his request for an open forum and comes amid ongoing scrutiny of his work. Committee Republicans have framed the inquiry as an examination of potential abuses, while Democrats view it as an opportunity to highlight evidence from the investigations.
The release has reignited debate over the cases, with some Republicans suggesting the hearing backfired by amplifying Mr. Smith’s unapologetic stance. Behind the scenes, Mr. Trump’s legal team has been active, though no public statements directly addressed the transcript.
In a related development, reports indicate the BBC may seek to subpoena Mr. Smith as a witness in Mr. Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the broadcaster, filed in Florida federal court. The suit alleges defamation and unfair trade practices over a BBC documentary or reporting on Mr. Trump, seeking $5 billion for each claim. The BBC has moved to dismiss the case, but details on any subpoena for Mr. Smith remain unconfirmed. Mr. Trump’s lawyers have not commented on the potential involvement.
The White House referred questions to the Justice Department, which declined to comment on ongoing litigation. Mr. Smith’s representatives could not be reached for additional statements.
As Mr. Trump settles into his second term, the testimony underscores lingering partisan divides over accountability for the events surrounding Jan. 6, 2021, and the handling of classified materials. Political analysts suggest the public hearing could further polarize discourse ahead of the 2026 midterms.
The baby stopped crying the second the maid held him… and the father noticed something that changed everything.
It felt like a confession.
For nearly an hour, the sound of the baby’s crying had filled every corner of the Whitmore mansion. It had echoed against the marble floor, bounced off the high ceilings, and followed Daniel Whitmore from room to room like a punishment he could not outrun.
His six-month-old son had been screaming until his tiny body shook.
No bottle had helped.
No blanket had helped.
No rocking, no white noise, no song from the expensive nursery machine imported from Germany had made the slightest difference.
Daniel had held his son awkwardly against his chest, whispering, pleading, pacing across the foyer in his loosened tie and wrinkled dress shirt.
“Come on, Noah,” he had murmured, his voice cracking from exhaustion. “Please, buddy. Please.”
But the child only cried harder.
Then Elena had appeared.
The maid.
She had come from the service hallway with fear in her eyes, as though the sound of the baby’s crying had stabbed straight through her.
She was not supposed to interfere. Daniel’s wife, Vanessa, had made that very clear to every member of the household staff.
The maids cleaned.
The cook prepared meals.
The driver waited outside.
No one touched the baby unless Vanessa allowed it.
But Vanessa was not home.
She had left for a charity dinner three hours earlier, dressed in silver silk and diamonds, telling Daniel with a bored wave of her hand that “babies cry, Daniel, it’s what they do.”
And now Elena stood before him, trembling.
“Mr. Whitmore,” she whispered. “Please. Let me try.”
Daniel stared at her.
The baby’s face was red, his fists clenched, his cries so sharp they sounded painful.
Elena stretched out her arms.
“Please,” she said again, and this time there were tears in her voice.
Daniel did not know why he handed Noah to her.
Maybe because he was desperate.
Maybe because something in Elena’s eyes did not look like a servant asking permission.
It looked like a mother begging for her child.
The moment Noah entered her arms, the screaming stopped.
Not slowly.
Not gradually.
Instantly.
The mansion fell silent.
Daniel’s breath caught.
Noah’s tiny body, stiff from crying only seconds earlier, softened against Elena’s chest. His head turned toward her. His wide, glassy eyes locked onto her face.
Then he made a small, broken sound.
Not a cry.
A sigh.
As if he had been searching for her.
As if he had finally come home.
Daniel felt the hair on his arms rise.
Elena closed her eyes as if something inside her had shattered. Tears slipped down her cheeks silently, one after another, but she did not wipe them away. She only held the baby tighter, pressing her lips against his fine dark hair.
Daniel’s voice came out low.
“Why did he stop crying for you?”
Elena opened her eyes.
For one second, she looked terrified.
Then she looked guilty.
Daniel stepped closer.
“I asked you a question.”
Elena lowered her gaze to the baby.
Noah lifted one tiny hand and rested it against her collarbone.
Daniel saw it.
The ease.
The familiarity.
The trust.
He had seen Noah with Vanessa. The child was quiet sometimes, yes, but never like this. Never calm in a way that seemed deeper than sleep. Never comforted as though he recognized the rhythm of someone’s heartbeat.
Daniel’s chest tightened.
“How many times have you held him?” he asked.
Elena swallowed.
“Sir…”
“How many times?”
She looked toward the staircase, then toward the front doors, as if afraid Vanessa might appear from the darkness.
Daniel’s voice sharpened.
“Elena.”
Her lips trembled.
“Every night,” she whispered.
The words dropped into the marble foyer like a glass breaking.
Daniel stared at her.
“What did you say?”
Elena held Noah closer, and the baby did not protest. He curled into her as though her arms were the only safe place in the world.
“Every night,” she repeated, barely audible. “Since he was brought home.”
Daniel felt something cold move through him.
“No,” he said slowly. “That’s impossible.”
Elena looked up at him then, and the pain in her face made him take one step back.
“Mrs. Whitmore said he cried too much,” she said. “She said she couldn’t sleep. She told me to take him downstairs after midnight and keep him quiet. At first it was only for an hour. Then two. Then almost every night.”
Daniel’s mouth went dry.
He remembered those nights.
He remembered Vanessa telling him Noah was “finally getting used to the nursery.” He remembered being proud. Relieved. Grateful that his wife seemed to have things under control while he worked late, traveled, built the company his father had left behind.
He remembered asking if Noah was sleeping better.
Vanessa had smiled and said, “Of course. I have a system.”
Daniel looked at the maid holding his son.
“You were the system,” he said.
Elena did not answer.
Noah blinked slowly, his tiny fingers gripping the fabric of her uniform.
Daniel’s mind began searching backward through the last six months, through every odd detail he had ignored.
The way Noah cried whenever Vanessa handed him off too quickly.
The way Vanessa avoided feeding him herself.
The way Elena always seemed to know when the baby needed something before anyone else did.
The way Noah’s gaze followed Elena across rooms.
The way Vanessa had once snapped, “Stop staring at the staff like that, Daniel. It’s rude.”
A sick feeling spread through him.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked.
Elena let out a small laugh, but there was no humor in it.
“Who would believe me, sir?”
“I would have.”
“Would you?”
The question struck harder than an accusation.
Daniel said nothing.
Because six months ago, he might not have.
Six months ago, he had believed his wife was overwhelmed but loving.
Six months ago, he had believed Elena was only the quiet maid who kept the nursery floors polished and the linen drawers organized.
Six months ago, he had believed money protected a family.
Now he stood in a mansion worth thirty million dollars and realized his own son had been comforted more by a woman on payroll than by either of his parents.
Daniel dragged a hand through his hair.
“What else?” he asked.
Elena’s face changed.
It was subtle.
But Daniel saw it.
Fear became panic.
He stepped closer.
“Elena. What else?”
She shook her head quickly.
“No, sir. Please. Not tonight.”
“Not tonight?” Daniel repeated. “My son screams for an hour, goes silent in your arms, and you’re crying like you’ve been carrying a secret for months. You don’t get to say not tonight.”
Elena’s tears fell faster.
Noah stirred against her, and she rocked him gently.
“Please don’t make me say it while I’m holding him.”
Daniel went still.
While I’m holding him.
The words landed wrong.
Too intimate.
Too possessive.
A thought formed in Daniel’s mind so terrible that he rejected it immediately.
But once it appeared, he could not destroy it.
He looked at Noah.
Dark hair.
Gray-blue eyes.
The same eyes Daniel’s mother had once called “Whitmore eyes.”
But babies changed. Features shifted. Everyone said so.
Still, Daniel found himself looking from the baby’s face to Elena’s.
Something in the shape of Noah’s mouth.
Something in the curve of his cheek.
No.
No, that was impossible.
Daniel’s voice became almost inaudible.
“Elena… why does he look at you like that?”
She closed her eyes.
“Because,” she whispered, “he knows.”
Daniel’s heart slammed once.
“Knows what?”
The front doors opened before she could answer.
Cold night air swept into the foyer.
Vanessa Whitmore stepped inside, laughing at something on her phone.
Her silver dress glittered beneath the chandelier. Her lipstick was perfect. Her diamond earrings caught the light with every movement.
Then she looked up.
The laugh died.
Her eyes moved from Daniel to Elena.
Then to the baby sleeping peacefully in the maid’s arms.
Vanessa’s face drained of color so quickly Daniel saw the truth before anyone spoke.
She knew.
Whatever Elena had been about to say, Vanessa already knew.
Daniel turned toward his wife.
“Vanessa,” he said softly, “what did you do?”
For the first time in their seven-year marriage, Vanessa Whitmore looked afraid.
And behind her fear, Daniel saw something worse.
Not guilt.
Rage.
