OAN Staff Cory Hawkins
9:30 AM – Tuesday, January 13, 2026
Former special counsel Jack Smith, who led federal investigations into President Donald Trump, is scheduled to testify publicly before the House Judiciary Committee. This will mark the first time the public will hear from Smith about his controversial probes.
Smith is set to appear before the Republican-led committee on January 22nd for a hearing, marking one month after he sat for a closed-door deposition during which he testified for eight hours about his work.
“The decision to bring charges against President Trump was mine, but the basis for nine of those charges rests entirely with President Trump and his actions, as alleged in the 10 indictments returned by grand juries in two different districts,” Smith said back in December.
“I made my decisions in the investigation without regard to President Trump’s political association, activities, beliefs, or candidacy in the 2024 presidential election,” Smith stated in the transcript of the deposition. “We took actions based on what the facts, and the law required, the very lesson I learned early in my career as a prosecutor.”
Smith charged Trump with four felony counts: conspiracy to defraud the United States by using dishonesty to impair the certification of election results, conspiracy to obstruct the January 6th congressional proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct that proceeding, and conspiracy against the rights of citizens to vote and have their votes counted.
In the classified-documents case, Trump was indicted on 40 felony counts, including 32 violations of the Espionage Act for willful retention of national defense information. After extensive legal battles and two not guilty pleas, Smith dropped all cases when Trump won the 2024 election due to a Department of Justice (DOJ) policy that prevents prosecuting sitting presidents.
Smith claims he wanted to speak to the committee publicly after Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) accused him of running a “partisan and politically motivated” investigation of Trump and conducting “abusive surveillance” of lawmakers.
The session is part of an ongoing GOP investigation into what they describe as the “weaponization” of the Justice Department under the Biden administration.
On December 17th, Smith testified in a private session lasting over eight hours. Transcripts were released to the public on December 31st, in which Smith defended his investigations. He claimed that the January 6th Capitol protest “does not happen without Trump” and emphasized evidence of criminal intent.
Trump, who consistently refers to Smith as a “thug” and says he belongs in jail, welcomes the president’s appearance at the public hearing.
Smith expressed great frustration over certain restrictions on his testimony and reiterated his desire for transparency, arguing the public testimony would allow Americans to hear directly about the special counsel’s work while adhering to legal constraints.
Smith was appointed by Biden-nominated Attorney General Merrick Garland in November 2022 to lead the investigations after Trump announced he was running for president again.
The January 22nd hearing is predicted to be contentious, with Republicans likely going all out on Smith regarding the motivations behind his controversial investigations of the president, potential biases, and coordination with the Biden administration.
Democrats could highlight the evidence Smith gathered, attempting to portray his investigations as non-partisan to uphold the rule of law.
The hearing, set for 10 a.m. EST, will be open to the public and livestreamed via the committee’s channels.
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