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House Republicans Subpoena Jack Smith

WASHINGTON ― Republicans in Congress have sent a subpoena to Jack Smith to testify on Capitol Hill later this month in a closed-door deposition.

Smith led the two prosecutions of President Donald Trump for hoarding classified documents after he left office and for trying to overthrow the 2020 election result. Trump has called Smith a criminal who should be in prison.

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The House Judiciary Committee’s subpoena indicates Smith’s lawyers said he would cooperate with the request.

“The Committee on the Judiciary is continuing to conduct oversight of the operations of the Office of Special Counsel you led ― specifically, your team’s prosecutions of President Donald J. Trump and his co-defendants,” the committee said in a cover letter. “Based upon communications with your counsel, we understand that you are available to testify at a deposition on December 17, 2025.”

A spokesman for House Judiciary Committee chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said Smith’s deposition would happen behind closed doors. In most such depositions, committees release a transcript days or weeks later.

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the top Democrat on the committee, criticized Jordan for apparently insisting on a private interview after Smith had volunteered to testify in public.

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“Chairman Jordan has denied Special Counsel Jack Smith’s offer to speak publicly to the whole Congress and the whole country about his investigations into Donald Trump, instead demanding he comply with a subpoena for a closed-door, private session simply so Republicans can spin, distort, and cherry-pick his remarks through press leaks,” Raskin said. “What are our colleagues so afraid of, that they won’t let the American people hear directly from the Special Counsel?

Jordan first requested Smith’s testimony in October, accusing Smith’s team of having “sought to silence President Trump by restricting his public statements about the case, conducted an unnecessary and abusive raid of his residence, attempted to improperly pressure defense counsel with the promise of political patronage, and manipulated key evidence in the investigation.”

In response, Smith’s attorneys suggested a public hearing.

“Given the many mischaracterizations of Mr. Smith’s investigation into President Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents and role in attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election, Mr. Smith respectfully requests the opportunity to testify in open hearings before the House and Senate Judiciary Committees,” the attorneys wrote in October.

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Smith’s attorneys did not respond immediately to HuffPost’s request for comment on Wednesday.

Citing Justice Department policy against prosecuting a sitting president, the former special counsel ended his cases against Trump after he won the presidential election to the White House last year.