By The Associated Press
Despite Smith’s previous offering to speak at an open meeting with the Republican-led panel looking into the indictments against Trump, the announcement was made on Wednesday.
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In a letter to Smith from committee chairman Republican Jim Jordan, the committee concluded that the committee believes that you have information that is essential to its oversight of this matter because of your service as Special Counsel.
Smith’s testimony was also requested by Jordan to provide records for the committee. Later this month, Smith will be scheduled for a closed-door interview.
One of the federal indictments that Smith spearheaded involved Trump’s alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election’s outcomes and his actions on January 6, 2021, when his supporters stormed the US Capitol.
The second incident involved his resort in Florida’s hoarding of classified documents.
After Trump’s re-election in November 2024, both cases were dropped. A sitting president’s prosecution is prohibited by a long-standing Justice Department rule.
Trump has described the indictments as being part of a coordinated, politically motivated “witch-hunt.”
In a statement, Smith’s attorney, Peter Koski, criticized the planned deposition’s private nature.
The American people won’t have the opportunity to speak with Jack directly on these subjects, Koski said. “We are disappointed that offer was rejected.
In order to clarify the various falsehoods about his investigation, Jack looks forward to meeting with the committee later this month to discuss his work.
Republicans in Congress have been making headlines recently as to reports that Smith’s team analyzed some lawmakers’ phone records prior to the riot on January 6.
The only basic information about incoming and outgoing calls, including their time, date, and duration, was maintained by Smith’s legal team, who maintained that the records did not include the contents of the phone conversations.
In a letter to lawmakers in October, Smith’s attorneys wrote to lawmakers that “Mr. Smith’s actions as Special Counsel were consistent with the decisions of a prosecutor who has dedicated his career to following the facts and the law, without fear or favor, and without regard for the political consequences.”
His investigative decisions had similar motivations, and the subpoena for toll records was lawful, accurate, and in line with established Department of Justice rules. Politics have never influenced Mr. Smith’s decision-making, they continued, despite the fact that Mr. Smith’s prosecutions of President Trump have, as one might expect, been politicized by others.
Trump repeatedly attacked Smith, calling him “a sick man,” when asked about the subpoena at a Wednesday press conference at the Oval Office.
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Source: Aljazeera
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