Former Trump prosecutor defends investigations before Senate

Former US special counsel Jack Smith has defended the criminal investigations he led into Donald Trump, telling the Senate Judiciary Committee that he stands by his decisions.

Smith appeared before the committee on Tuesday amid Republican calls for him to face prosecution over allegations concerning his testimony and the conduct of his investigations.

ABC News reports that Smith said his decisions were made without regard to Trump’s political affiliation or his candidacy in the 2024 election.

Republican senators focused on Smith’s investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, particularly the obtaining of phone records belonging to Republican lawmakers.

They argued that the subpoenas violated constitutional protections covering congressional activity. Smith defended the investigation, saying its focus was on the conduct of people allegedly involved in the wider matter rather than on members of Congress. He said he had not personally selected the lawmakers whose records were obtained.

Committee chairman Chuck Grassley accused Smith of targeting Republican lawmakers and sharply criticised the investigation.

Democratic senators rejected those allegations and accused Republicans of presenting a selective account of the probe. They also pointed to what they described as political interference in the Justice Department under the Trump administration.

Smith told senators that political affiliation should play no role in decisions to investigate or prosecute and said he would make the same decisions again based on the evidence available to him.