Former Prosecutor Claims to Have Evidence That Trump Sought to Overturn 2020 Election Result

Former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith arrives under subpoena for a deposition before the House Judiciary Committee on his investigations of President Donald Trump, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith told lawmakers in a closed-door deposition Wednesday that his investigative team "developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt" that President Donald Trump criminally conspired to overturn the results of the 2020 election, according to portions of his opening statement obtained by The Associated Press.

He also stated that investigators amassed "powerful evidence" that Trump violated the law by hoarding classified documents from his first term at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida and by obstructing government efforts to retrieve the files.

"I made my decisions in the investigation without regard to the political affiliation, activities, beliefs, or candidacy of President Trump in the 2024 election," Smith asserted. "We acted based on what the facts and the law required, the lesson I learned early in my career as a prosecutor."

He said if asked whether "I would prosecute a former president based on the same facts today, I would do so regardless of whether the president were a Republican or a Democrat."

Private Testimony Before House Panel

The private deposition before the House Judiciary Committee gives Smith his first opportunity to face questions, albeit behind closed doors, about a pair of investigations into Trump that resulted in criminal charges later abandoned between the Republican's first and second terms. Smith was subpoenaed earlier this month to provide both testimony and documents as part of a Republican-led investigation into the probes of Trump during the Biden administration.

The former special counsel complied with the congressional demand despite having offered more than a month ago to answer questions publicly before the committee—a proposal his lawyers said was rejected by Republicans.

"By testifying before this committee, Jack is showing tremendous courage in light of the remarkable and unprecedented campaign of retaliation against him by this administration and this White House," one of his attorneys, Lanny Breuer, told reporters Wednesday. "Let's be clear: Jack Smith is a career prosecutor, who carried out this investigation based on the facts and the law and nothing else."

Trump told reporters at the White House that he supported the idea of an open hearing, saying, "I would rather see him testify publicly. There's no way he can answer the questions."

Scope of the Deposition

Smith is expected to speak about both investigations into Trump but will not answer questions requiring materials from the grand jury, which are restricted by law, according to a person familiar with the matter who requested anonymity. Smith is also expected to correct what he considers misconceptions by Republicans about his work, including his team's use of telephone records belonging to certain Republican Party lawmakers, the person said.

Smith was appointed in 2022 to oversee the Justice Department's investigations into Trump's efforts to undo his defeat in the 2020 presidential election to Democrat Joe Biden and his retention of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. His team brought charges in both probes.

Smith stepped away from the cases after Trump was elected again to the White House last year, citing Justice Department legal opinions that say a sitting president cannot be indicted.

Republicans, who control Congress, have sought interviews with at least some individual members of Smith's team.

In recent weeks, they have seized on revelations that the team, as part of its investigation, analyzed the phone records of select Republican Party lawmakers from around January 6, 2021, when Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in a bid to stop the certification of Biden's victory. The phone records reviewed by prosecutors included only details about incoming and outgoing phone numbers and the duration of the call, not the content of the conversation.

Jack Smith testimony, Trump election interference investigation, Mar-a-Lago classified documents case