Jack Smith

Yeah.

No one should be above the law in this country, and the law required that he be held to account.

So that is what I did.

To have done otherwise on the facts of these cases would have meant to shirk my duties as a prosecutor and as a public servant.

President Trump was charged because the evidence established that he willfully broke the law.

The very laws he took an oath to uphold.

Grand juries in two separate districts reached this conclusion based on his actions, as alleged in the indictments they returned.

Texas Republican Congressman Brandon Gill questioned Jack Smith's effort to obtain Republican phone records as part of Smith's investigation into January 6th, noting he got the records, including of then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, under a nondisclosure order so phone companies couldn't notify targets of the investigation.

Gill said Smith called lawmakers a flight risk.

Smith defended his decision.

I had grave concerns about obstruction of justice in this investigation, specifically with regards to Donald Trump.

Republicans said this violated rules protecting lawmakers engaged in legislative acts.

Jessica Rosenthal, Fox News.

As I testify before the committee today, I want to be clear.

I stand by my decisions as special counsel, including the decision to bring charges against President Trump.

Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in criminal activity.

If asked whether to prosecute a former president based on the same facts today, I would do so regardless of whether that president was a Democrat or a Republican.

No one, no one should be above the law in this country and the law required that he be held to account.

So that is what I did.

To have done otherwise on the facts of these cases would have been to shirk my duties as a prosecutor and as a public servant.