This browser does not support the Video element.
Former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith is testifying on Thursday at a congressional hearing that is focusing on two criminal investigations during Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign.
Here are the latest updates from Jack Smith's testimony before the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday:
Jack Smith says there were ‘so many witnesses’ in the case against Trump, including his Republican supporters
12:30 p.m. ET: The Associated Press reported that Jack Smith admitted that one of the "central challenges" was trying to present the case in a concise way, "because we did have so many witnesses."
"Some of the most powerful witnesses were witnesses who, in fact, were fellow Republicans who had voted for Donald Trump, who had campaigned for him and who wanted him to win the election," Smith said.
Still, Smith said he stopped short of filing a charge of insurrection charge against Trump. That was pursued in his House impeachment in the aftermath of Jan. 6. The Senate later acquitted Trump of the sole count of incitement of an insurrection, the AP reported.
"With respect to the charge of insurrection, we did not charge that," Smith said. "I thought the charges we brought were appropriate given the evidence we had."
Smith defends move to examine phone records of GOP lawmakers
10:45 a.m. ET: Republicans have repeatedly attacked Smith over a decision to obtain and examine phone records of GOP legislators who were in contact with President Donald Trump on Jan. 6, 2021.
According to the Associated Press, Jack Smith defended the move as "common practice" in a complex criminal investigation.
Former Special Counsel Jack Smith is sworn in before he testifies during a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill on January 22, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Al Drago/Getty Images)
Smith told legislators "it was relevant to get the full records to understand the scope of that conspiracy, who they were seeking to coerce, who they were seeking to influence."
The records enabled investigators to view information about the date and time of the calls but not the content of the communications. The data encompassed several days during the week of Jan. 6, 2021, when pro-Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in a bid to stop the certification of the presidential election results.
Smith says he has ‘no partisan loyalties,’ as his testimony starts
10:30 a.m. ET: Jack Smith defended his work as special counsel and told the committee he stands by his decision to bring criminal charges against President Donald Trump as he opened his testimony before the House Judiciary Committee.
Smith said he’s "not a politician and has no partisan loyalties," and would have brought charges no matter the president’s politics, the Associated Press reported.
"No one, no one should be above the law in this country," Smith said.
Smith criticized what he described as "false and misleading" narratives about the cases, which were abandoned after Trump won the election.
And he condemned the firing of members of the team that investigated the president, saying he is "saddened and angered" that Trump has "sought revenge against them."
Officers who responded on Jan. 6 sit behind Jack Smith at hearing
10:15 a.m. ET: The Associated Press reported that four former and current officers who responded to the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021 riots sat in the front row behind Jack Smith as his congressional hearing began.
Smith has said evidence placed President Donald Trump’s actions at the heart of a criminal conspiracy to overturn the election he lost to Joe Biden as well as the Jan. 6, 2021, riot by a mob of Trump supporters at the U.S. Capitol.
What is Jack Smith expected to address at the hearing?
Dig deeper:
Jack Smith will tell legislators that he supported his decision as special counsel to bring charges against President Donald Trump in separate cases accusing him of trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election after he lost to Democrat Joe Biden and holding on to classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.
Who is Jack Smith?
The backstory:
In 2022, Jack Smith was appointed by former President Joe Biden's Justice Department to handle investigations into Donald Trump.
The Associated Press reported that both investigations resulted in indictments against Trump, but the cases were abandoned by Smith and his team after Trump won the presidential election due to longstanding Justice Department legal opinions that state sitting presidents cannot be indicted.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by the Associated Press. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.