Jack Smith asks Congress and the Justice Department to allow him to testify publicly [View all]
Source: CNN Politics
Updated Oct 23, 2025, 5:53 PM ET
PUBLISHED Oct 23, 2025, 4:32 PM ET
Former special counsel Jack Smith is requesting that Congress and the Justice Department allow him to testify publicly, according to a new letter he sent Thursday to the leaders of the House and Senate Judiciary committees.
Smith says he wants to testify “in open hearings” because of “the many mischaracterizations” around his investigations that led to criminal charges against Donald Trump in 2023 for alleged mishandling classified records and actions related to the 2020 election results.
The letter, obtained by CNN, reflects a bubbling inquiry from Republicans in Congress who have accused Smith of wrongdoing in overseeing the prosecutors’ office. Smith has maintained he followed all court and Justice Department protocols.
Smith’s lawyers on Thursday told the Republican committee leaders, however, that he would need reassurance from the Justice Department that “he will not be punished” for testimony, since some of the facts of his special office investigations are still under seal in court or protected by grand jury secrecy rules. Jack Smith’s lawyers are expected to formally seek guidance from the Justice Department regarding possible congressional testimony, but have not done so yet, a source familiar to the plans told CNN.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/23/politics/jack-smith-asks-to-testify-congress
Link to LETTER (PDF viewer) - https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/26195522-jack-smith-letter-requesting-to-testify/
Link to LETTER (PDF) - https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/26195522/jack-smith-letter-requesting-to-testify.pdf
= new reply since forum marked as read