Senate GOP to press Jack Smith on Trump Jan. 6 probe as DOJ targets investigators

Key Points:

• Former special counsel Jack Smith is scheduled to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee amid criticism from Senate Republicans, particularly Chairman Chuck Grassley, who accuses Smith of abusing his authority and politically targeting Republicans during his investigations into Donald Trump.
• Smith led probes into Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results and the handling of classified documents after Trump left office; he denies allegations of political bias and maintains his decisions were independent of the Biden administration.
• The hearing, titled “Oversight of Jack Smith’s Abuse of Authority and the Targeting of Republicans and Related Matters,” is expected to be contentious, with Republicans asserting that Smith misused taxpayer-funded investigative powers.
• Smith’s investigations have faced pushback from Trump allies, including efforts to probe Smith for alleged false statements during congressional testimony, though legal experts doubt the viability of such perjury claims.
• Smith will likely avoid discussing the classified documents probe due to a court order restricting disclosure, with the Justice Department maintaining that addressing questions on that matter would violate the judge’s directive.