#riotjanuary6th — Public Fediverse posts
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Takeaways from Jack Smith’s testimony on his case against Trump – AP News
1 of 6 | Jack Smith stands by his Trump investigation at congressional hearing,Takeaways from Jack Smith on his case against Trump, ‘so many witnesses’ and the threats ahead
1 of 6 | Jack Smith stands by his Trump investigation at congressional hearing
2 of 6 | Former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith testifies before the House Judiciary Committee about his investigations into President Donald Trump, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026 at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo / Jacquelyn Martin)
3 of 6 | Former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith waits to testify before the House Judiciary Committee about his investigations into President Donald Trump, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026 at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo / Mark Schiefelbein)
4 of 6 | Founder of the Oath Keepers Stewart Rhodes, center, taking his seat for the testimony of former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith before the House Judiciary Committee about his investigations into President Donald Trump, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026 at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo / Jacquelyn Martin)
5 of 6 | Washington Metropolitan Police officer Daniel Hodges, left, greets former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith after the House Judiciary Committee hearing at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo / Jacquelyn Martin)
6 of 6 | Former U.S. Capitol Police Sgt. Harry Dunn, left, hands former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith a police patch after the House Judiciary Committee hearing about his investigations into President Donald Trump at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. Looking on at center is Washington Metropolitan Police officer Daniel Hodges. (AP Photo / Jacquelyn Martin)
By LISA MASCARO, MARY CLARE JALONICK, ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and ERIC TUCKER Updated 3:49 PM PST, January 22, 2026
150
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former special counsel Jack Smith testified Thursday about his investigation of President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, detailing how the defeated president “sought to prey” on his supporters and “looked for ways to stay in power,” culminating in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
It was Smith’s first public hearing since he left the department last year, and the nearly five-hour session at the House Judiciary Committee delved into far-flung details — from former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson’s blockbuster testimony before the Jan. 6 committee to the gag order slapped on Trump during the investigation over his efforts to intimidate witnesses.
“Our investigation revealed that Donald Trump is the person who caused Jan. 6, it was foreseeable to him, and that he sought to exploit the violence,” Smith testified.
Trump, during the hearing, was live-posting his rage against Smith — suggesting the former career prosecutor should himself be prosecuted. In the room sat militant Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, and a tense encounter erupted between one audience member and police who had defended the Capitol, reminding how Jan. 6 still divides the Congress, and the country.
Related Stories
Smith defends his Trump investigations at a House hearing. ‘No one should be above the law,’ he says
Jack Smith tells lawmakers his team developed ‘proof beyond a reasonable doubt’ against Trump
Capitol riot ‘does not happen’ without Trump, Jack Smith told Congress – Smith said he believes Trump officials now will do “everything in their power” to prosecute him, but he said he would “not be intimidated” by attacks from the president, adding that investigators gathered proof that Trump committed “serious crimes.”
Former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith testifies before the House Judiciary Committee at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo / Mark Schiefelbein)
“I’m not going to pretend that didn’t happen because he’s threatening me,” Smith said.
Once Trump won reelection in 2024, Smith abandoned the cases against him, adhering to Justice Department protocol against prosecuting a sitting president. Trump faced a four-count indictment in the conspiracy to overthrow the election and, separately, Smith’s team indicted Trump over holding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago home.
Throughout the session, Republicans highlighted new developments as they seek to sow doubt on Smith’s now defunct-case against Trump, while Democrats warned that Trump’s allies are trying to rewrite history after the defeated president sent his supporters to the Capitol to fight for his failed election against Democrat Joe Biden.
Far from done, Smith is expected to be called before the Senate, which is planning its own hearing, and he has been unable to discuss the documents case that lawmakers want to probe. Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon halted the release of a report by Smith’s team on that case with an injunction that is set to expire next month, but lawyers for Trump have asked to leave it permanently under seal.
One star witness under scrutiny, but Smith says there are ‘so many’ more
Republicans have fixated for years on countering the gripping testimony that former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson gave to the Jan. 6 committee, trying to prove her wrong.
The young aide recounted having been told that day about Trump lunging for the steering wheel in the presidential limousine as he demanded to join supporters at the Capitol. It’s a story that others said did not happen.
FILE – Cassidy Hutchinson, former aide to Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, is sworn in to testify as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol continues to reveal its findings of a year-long investigation, at the Capitol in Washington, June 28, 2022. (AP Photo / Jacquelyn Martin, File)“Mr. Smith, is Cassidy Hutchinson a liar?” asked Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the committee chairman.
Smith explained that Hutchinson’s testimony was “second hand,” and as his team interviewed other witnesses, and the Secret Service agent in the car at the time “did not confirm what happened.”
Jordan pressed whether Smith would have brought Hutchinson forward to testify anyway, and Smith said he had not made “any final determinations.”
Smith said, “We had a large choice of witnesses.”
“That says it all,” Jordan declared. “You were still considering putting her on the witness stand because you had to get President Trump.”
In fact, Smith said, one of the “central challenges” of the case was to present it in a concise way, “because we did have so many witnesses” — state officials, Trump campaign workers and advisers — to testify.
“Some of the most powerful witnesses were witnesses who, in fact, were fellow Republicans who had voted for Donald Trump, who had campaigned for him and who wanted him to win the election,” Smith said.
Editor’s Note: Read the rest of the story, at the below link.
Continue/Read Original Article Here: Takeaways from Jack Smith’s testimony on his case against Trump | AP News
#2020Election #AgainstTrump #AP #APNews #AssociatedPress #AttackCapitol #DanielHodges #DonaldTrump #FirstPublicHearing #HarryDunn #Hearing #HisCase #Investigations #JackSmith #OathKeepers #RiotJanuary6th #StewartRhodes #Takeaways #Testimony #Trump #TrumpAdministration #USCongress -
Takeaways from Jack Smith’s testimony on his case against Trump – AP News
1 of 6 | Jack Smith stands by his Trump investigation at congressional hearing,Takeaways from Jack Smith on his case against Trump, ‘so many witnesses’ and the threats ahead
1 of 6 | Jack Smith stands by his Trump investigation at congressional hearing
2 of 6 | Former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith testifies before the House Judiciary Committee about his investigations into President Donald Trump, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026 at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo / Jacquelyn Martin)
3 of 6 | Former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith waits to testify before the House Judiciary Committee about his investigations into President Donald Trump, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026 at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo / Mark Schiefelbein)
4 of 6 | Founder of the Oath Keepers Stewart Rhodes, center, taking his seat for the testimony of former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith before the House Judiciary Committee about his investigations into President Donald Trump, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026 at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo / Jacquelyn Martin)
5 of 6 | Washington Metropolitan Police officer Daniel Hodges, left, greets former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith after the House Judiciary Committee hearing at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo / Jacquelyn Martin)
6 of 6 | Former U.S. Capitol Police Sgt. Harry Dunn, left, hands former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith a police patch after the House Judiciary Committee hearing about his investigations into President Donald Trump at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. Looking on at center is Washington Metropolitan Police officer Daniel Hodges. (AP Photo / Jacquelyn Martin)
By LISA MASCARO, MARY CLARE JALONICK, ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and ERIC TUCKER Updated 3:49 PM PST, January 22, 2026
150
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former special counsel Jack Smith testified Thursday about his investigation of President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, detailing how the defeated president “sought to prey” on his supporters and “looked for ways to stay in power,” culminating in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
It was Smith’s first public hearing since he left the department last year, and the nearly five-hour session at the House Judiciary Committee delved into far-flung details — from former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson’s blockbuster testimony before the Jan. 6 committee to the gag order slapped on Trump during the investigation over his efforts to intimidate witnesses.
“Our investigation revealed that Donald Trump is the person who caused Jan. 6, it was foreseeable to him, and that he sought to exploit the violence,” Smith testified.
Trump, during the hearing, was live-posting his rage against Smith — suggesting the former career prosecutor should himself be prosecuted. In the room sat militant Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, and a tense encounter erupted between one audience member and police who had defended the Capitol, reminding how Jan. 6 still divides the Congress, and the country.
Related Stories
Smith defends his Trump investigations at a House hearing. ‘No one should be above the law,’ he says
Jack Smith tells lawmakers his team developed ‘proof beyond a reasonable doubt’ against Trump
Capitol riot ‘does not happen’ without Trump, Jack Smith told Congress – Smith said he believes Trump officials now will do “everything in their power” to prosecute him, but he said he would “not be intimidated” by attacks from the president, adding that investigators gathered proof that Trump committed “serious crimes.”
Former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith testifies before the House Judiciary Committee at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo / Mark Schiefelbein)
“I’m not going to pretend that didn’t happen because he’s threatening me,” Smith said.
Once Trump won reelection in 2024, Smith abandoned the cases against him, adhering to Justice Department protocol against prosecuting a sitting president. Trump faced a four-count indictment in the conspiracy to overthrow the election and, separately, Smith’s team indicted Trump over holding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago home.
Throughout the session, Republicans highlighted new developments as they seek to sow doubt on Smith’s now defunct-case against Trump, while Democrats warned that Trump’s allies are trying to rewrite history after the defeated president sent his supporters to the Capitol to fight for his failed election against Democrat Joe Biden.
Far from done, Smith is expected to be called before the Senate, which is planning its own hearing, and he has been unable to discuss the documents case that lawmakers want to probe. Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon halted the release of a report by Smith’s team on that case with an injunction that is set to expire next month, but lawyers for Trump have asked to leave it permanently under seal.
One star witness under scrutiny, but Smith says there are ‘so many’ more
Republicans have fixated for years on countering the gripping testimony that former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson gave to the Jan. 6 committee, trying to prove her wrong.
The young aide recounted having been told that day about Trump lunging for the steering wheel in the presidential limousine as he demanded to join supporters at the Capitol. It’s a story that others said did not happen.
FILE – Cassidy Hutchinson, former aide to Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, is sworn in to testify as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol continues to reveal its findings of a year-long investigation, at the Capitol in Washington, June 28, 2022. (AP Photo / Jacquelyn Martin, File)“Mr. Smith, is Cassidy Hutchinson a liar?” asked Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the committee chairman.
Smith explained that Hutchinson’s testimony was “second hand,” and as his team interviewed other witnesses, and the Secret Service agent in the car at the time “did not confirm what happened.”
Jordan pressed whether Smith would have brought Hutchinson forward to testify anyway, and Smith said he had not made “any final determinations.”
Smith said, “We had a large choice of witnesses.”
“That says it all,” Jordan declared. “You were still considering putting her on the witness stand because you had to get President Trump.”
In fact, Smith said, one of the “central challenges” of the case was to present it in a concise way, “because we did have so many witnesses” — state officials, Trump campaign workers and advisers — to testify.
“Some of the most powerful witnesses were witnesses who, in fact, were fellow Republicans who had voted for Donald Trump, who had campaigned for him and who wanted him to win the election,” Smith said.
Editor’s Note: Read the rest of the story, at the below link.
Continue/Read Original Article Here: Takeaways from Jack Smith’s testimony on his case against Trump | AP News
#2020Election #AgainstTrump #AP #APNews #AssociatedPress #AttackCapitol #DanielHodges #DonaldTrump #FirstPublicHearing #HarryDunn #Hearing #HisCase #Investigations #JackSmith #OathKeepers #RiotJanuary6th #StewartRhodes #Takeaways #Testimony #Trump #TrumpAdministration #USCongress -
Seeing Things – January 6th Is Still Happening In Real Time – Liza Donnelly
I’m serious today because this is deadly serious, January 6th Is Still Happening In Real Time
By Liza Donnelly, Jan 06, 2026
Above is drawing I did as I watched the insurrection unfold on television on January 6th, 2020. It was terrifying.
Later that day, during a live broadcast, I did the above on paper, from memory, live on Instagram. Police officer Eugene Goodman was the man who stopped insurrectionists from further entering the depths of the Capital; I remember watching him, in awe, and was so moved by his bravery. He may have single handedly saved the lives of some Senators, Congress people and Vice President Mike Pence.
For some years after that horrific violent coup attempt, we were hopeful that it was an isolated event. But as I began to see how Trump continue his election-denying, and more and more people were willing to lie about it and join his side, it was clear to me that we were in big trouble. I saw that what was going to happen was that Trump and anyone who attached themselves to him with these lies, was going to try to affect a coup from within the government. Then he was re-elected on more lies, swindling his followers into thinking he was all for them.
We are living a slow, internal coup right now. Vote in ALL elections, protest and call your reps.
The Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has vowed to return to the country as soon as possible and she rejected the authority of the interim president backed by the US after it forcibly removed Maduro. She wants to return and hold elections.
Many people in Venezuela expected her to return as the leader of the country after Maduro was captured. Today, Machado publicly praised Trump for capturing Maduro, who was an illegitimate leader of the country following the previous elections which he lost. But Trump sidelined Machado as a potential leader, saying she has no support in her country; a flat out lie. She is hugely popular. Some are suggesting that because Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year (for her opposition work against Maduro), and Trump desperately wanted to get it, that his ego will not let her return to the country. Trump wants to run Venezuela, and hopes to threaten those in power now to do what he wants. He probably thinks that Machado is not someone he can trust to do his bidding.
There was a briefing yesterday for the Congressional Gang of Four about the Venezuela military action. It left members with more questions, and we don’t know yet what those opposed to Trump’s warmongering will do.
“This business of coming over and just talking to some of us, I think is a special kind of stupid,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said in an interview Monday. “They need to sit down with every member of the Senate and explain what’s going on.”
As that briefing was going on, Trump advisor Stephen Miller was on CNN in an interview was at times very contentious, Miller yelling at Tapper, and saying some outrageous things. The premise of his comments were that the United States has the right, because of the fact that we are a superpower, to take over countries in the Western Hemisphere for our security. Power over diplomacy.
Below is a clip that will show you, as well as the full exchange. Miller stated that we have “a right to Greenland.” Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen of Denmark urged Mr. Trump on Sunday to “stop the threats” to annex Greenland, in effect attacking a NATO ally.
Miller:
“We live in a world, in the real world, Jake, that is governed by strength, that is governed by force, that is governed by power. These are the iron laws of the world since the beginning of time.”
“We set the terms and conditions,” Mr. Miller said. “We have a complete embargo on all of their oil and their ability to do commerce. So for them to do commerce, they need our permission. For them to be able to run an economy, they need our permission. So the United States is in charge. The United States is running the country.”
“The future of the free world depends on America being able to assert ourselves and our interests without apology. This whole period that happened after World War II when the United States began apologizing, groveling and begging…” then Jake Tapper cut him off saying “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You’re looking at it the wrong way Jake. This neoliberalism idea that the United states should go around the world demanding elections everywhere!”
https://www.tiktok.com/@cnn/video/7592063639100624141?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc
Here’s the whole interview:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLFkQbPWWDI
Source: https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/kLFkQbPWWDI?rel=0&autoplay=0&showinfo=0&enablejsapi=0
The Pentagon moved to punish retired Navy captain and Senator Mark Kelly for an “anti-Trump video” he was a part of (it was not anti-Trump), calling it “seditious behavior.” They want to cut his military pay of $6000/month.
“Pete Hegseth wants to send the message to every single retired servicemember that if they say something he or Donald Trump doesn’t like, they will come after them the same way,” Kelly said. “It’s outrageous and it is wrong. There is nothing more un-American than that.”
Here is the video: https://youtube.com/shorts/Fk9Gh3qwW4I?si=QlMPl9Xraza6tytc
I’ll end with one more thing about January 6th. Today on Capitol Hill, Pamela Hempel spoke at a hearing that Democrats held to mark the 5th anniversary of January 6th. She was one of the 1600 insurrectionists who were pardoned by Trump, but she refused the pardon and served time in prison.
View this post on Instagram
Direct link to above: View this post on Instagram, A post shared by C-SPAN (@cspan) … C-SPAN on Instagram: “Pamela Hemphill, a Jan. 6 participant who…
She said at the hearing today:
“Once I got away from the Maga cult and started educating myself about January 6th, I knew what I did was wrong. I am guilty and I own that guilt I had fallen for the president’s lies.”
A remarkable woman of conscience. I wish we had some like her among congressional Republicans, then we could end this madness.
Read more: Seeing Things – January 6th Is Still Happening In Real Time – Liza DonnellyContinue/Read Original Article Here: January 6th Is Still Happening In Real Time
#2026 #CapitolRiot #CNN #CoupAttempt #Denmark #EugeneGoodman #Greenland #HangMikePence #Imperialism #JakeTapper #January6 #January62021 #January6AttackOnUSCapitol #LizaDonnelly #MariaCorinaMachado #MikePence #NATO #RiotJanuary6th #SeeingThings #StephenMiller #Venezuela -
Seeing Things – January 6th Is Still Happening In Real Time – Liza Donnelly
I’m serious today because this is deadly serious, January 6th Is Still Happening In Real Time
By Liza Donnelly, Jan 06, 2026
Above is drawing I did as I watched the insurrection unfold on television on January 6th, 2020. It was terrifying.
Later that day, during a live broadcast, I did the above on paper, from memory, live on Instagram. Police officer Eugene Goodman was the man who stopped insurrectionists from further entering the depths of the Capital; I remember watching him, in awe, and was so moved by his bravery. He may have single handedly saved the lives of some Senators, Congress people and Vice President Mike Pence.
For some years after that horrific violent coup attempt, we were hopeful that it was an isolated event. But as I began to see how Trump continue his election-denying, and more and more people were willing to lie about it and join his side, it was clear to me that we were in big trouble. I saw that what was going to happen was that Trump and anyone who attached themselves to him with these lies, was going to try to affect a coup from within the government. Then he was re-elected on more lies, swindling his followers into thinking he was all for them.
We are living a slow, internal coup right now. Vote in ALL elections, protest and call your reps.
The Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has vowed to return to the country as soon as possible and she rejected the authority of the interim president backed by the US after it forcibly removed Maduro. She wants to return and hold elections.
Many people in Venezuela expected her to return as the leader of the country after Maduro was captured. Today, Machado publicly praised Trump for capturing Maduro, who was an illegitimate leader of the country following the previous elections which he lost. But Trump sidelined Machado as a potential leader, saying she has no support in her country; a flat out lie. She is hugely popular. Some are suggesting that because Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year (for her opposition work against Maduro), and Trump desperately wanted to get it, that his ego will not let her return to the country. Trump wants to run Venezuela, and hopes to threaten those in power now to do what he wants. He probably thinks that Machado is not someone he can trust to do his bidding.
There was a briefing yesterday for the Congressional Gang of Four about the Venezuela military action. It left members with more questions, and we don’t know yet what those opposed to Trump’s warmongering will do.
“This business of coming over and just talking to some of us, I think is a special kind of stupid,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said in an interview Monday. “They need to sit down with every member of the Senate and explain what’s going on.”
As that briefing was going on, Trump advisor Stephen Miller was on CNN in an interview was at times very contentious, Miller yelling at Tapper, and saying some outrageous things. The premise of his comments were that the United States has the right, because of the fact that we are a superpower, to take over countries in the Western Hemisphere for our security. Power over diplomacy.
Below is a clip that will show you, as well as the full exchange. Miller stated that we have “a right to Greenland.” Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen of Denmark urged Mr. Trump on Sunday to “stop the threats” to annex Greenland, in effect attacking a NATO ally.
Miller:
“We live in a world, in the real world, Jake, that is governed by strength, that is governed by force, that is governed by power. These are the iron laws of the world since the beginning of time.”
“We set the terms and conditions,” Mr. Miller said. “We have a complete embargo on all of their oil and their ability to do commerce. So for them to do commerce, they need our permission. For them to be able to run an economy, they need our permission. So the United States is in charge. The United States is running the country.”
“The future of the free world depends on America being able to assert ourselves and our interests without apology. This whole period that happened after World War II when the United States began apologizing, groveling and begging…” then Jake Tapper cut him off saying “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You’re looking at it the wrong way Jake. This neoliberalism idea that the United states should go around the world demanding elections everywhere!”
https://www.tiktok.com/@cnn/video/7592063639100624141?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc
Here’s the whole interview:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLFkQbPWWDI
Source: https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/kLFkQbPWWDI?rel=0&autoplay=0&showinfo=0&enablejsapi=0
The Pentagon moved to punish retired Navy captain and Senator Mark Kelly for an “anti-Trump video” he was a part of (it was not anti-Trump), calling it “seditious behavior.” They want to cut his military pay of $6000/month.
“Pete Hegseth wants to send the message to every single retired servicemember that if they say something he or Donald Trump doesn’t like, they will come after them the same way,” Kelly said. “It’s outrageous and it is wrong. There is nothing more un-American than that.”
Here is the video: https://youtube.com/shorts/Fk9Gh3qwW4I?si=QlMPl9Xraza6tytc
I’ll end with one more thing about January 6th. Today on Capitol Hill, Pamela Hempel spoke at a hearing that Democrats held to mark the 5th anniversary of January 6th. She was one of the 1600 insurrectionists who were pardoned by Trump, but she refused the pardon and served time in prison.
View this post on Instagram
Direct link to above: View this post on Instagram, A post shared by C-SPAN (@cspan) … C-SPAN on Instagram: “Pamela Hemphill, a Jan. 6 participant who…
She said at the hearing today:
“Once I got away from the Maga cult and started educating myself about January 6th, I knew what I did was wrong. I am guilty and I own that guilt I had fallen for the president’s lies.”
A remarkable woman of conscience. I wish we had some like her among congressional Republicans, then we could end this madness.
Read more: Seeing Things – January 6th Is Still Happening In Real Time – Liza DonnellyContinue/Read Original Article Here: January 6th Is Still Happening In Real Time
#2026 #CapitolRiot #CNN #CoupAttempt #Denmark #EugeneGoodman #Greenland #HangMikePence #Imperialism #JakeTapper #January6 #January62021 #January6AttackOnUSCapitol #LizaDonnelly #MariaCorinaMachado #MikePence #NATO #RiotJanuary6th #SeeingThings #StephenMiller #Venezuela -
Jan. 6 riot ‘does not happen’ without Trump, Jack Smith told Congress – NPR
In this image from video released by the House Judiciary Committee, former special counsel Jack Smith speaks during a deposition Dec. 17, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington.
House Judiciary Committee / APLaw
Capitol riot ‘does not happen’ without Trump, Jack Smith told Congress
December 31, 20259:15 PM ETBy The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The Jan. 6., 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol “does not happen” without Donald Trump, former special counsel Jack Smith told lawmakers earlier this month in characterizing the Republican president as the “most culpable and most responsible person” in the criminal conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Special Counsel Jack Smith, seen here in August 2023, defended his work to House members Wednesday.Law
Jack Smith defends his prosecutions of Trump in closed-door session in CongressThe Republican-led House Judiciary Committee released on Wednesday a transcript and video of a closed-door interview Smith gave about two investigations of Trump. The document shows how Smith during the course of a daylong deposition repeatedly defended the basis for pursuing indictments against Trump and vigorously rejected Republican suggestions that his investigations were politically motivated.
Special counsel Jack Smith delivers remarks on a recently unsealed indictment against Donald Trump in August 2023 in Washington, D.C.Law
Special counsel Jack Smith says evidence against Trump was enough to convict him“The evidence here made clear that President Trump was by a large measure the most culpable and most responsible person in this conspiracy. These crimes were committed for his benefit. The attack that happened at the Capitol, part of this case, does not happen without him. The other co-conspirators were doing this for his benefit,” Smith said, bristling at a question about whether his investigations were meant to prevent Trump from reclaiming the presidency in 2024.
“So in terms of why we would pursue a case against him, I entirely disagree with any characterization that our work was in any way meant to hamper him in the presidential election,” he added.
The Dec. 17 deposition was conducted privately despite Smith’s request to testify publicly. The release of the transcript and video of the interview, so far Smith’s only appearance on Capitol Hill since leaving his special counsel position last January, adds to the public understanding of the decision-making behind two of the most consequential Justice Department investigations in recent history.
Trump was indicted on charges of conspiring to undo the 2020 election he lost to Democrat Joe Biden, and of willfully retaining classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Both cases were abandoned after Trump’s 2024 election win, with Smith citing Justice Department policy against the indictment of a sitting president.
Smith repeatedly made clear his belief that the evidence gathered against Trump was strong enough to sustain a conviction. Part of the strength of the Jan. 6 case, Smith said, was the extent to which it relied on the testimony of Trump allies and supporters who cooperated with the investigation.
“We had an elector in Pennsylvania who is a former congressman, who was going to be an elector for President Trump, who said that what they were trying to do was an attempt to overthrow the government and illegal,” Smith said. “Our case was built on, frankly, Republicans who put their allegiance to the country before the party.”
Editor’s Note: Read the rest of the story, at the below link.
Continue/Read Original Article Here: Jan. 6 riot ‘does not happen’ without Trump, Jack Smith told Congress : NPR
#AP #AssociatedPress #December172025 #DepartmentOfJusticeSpecialCounselJackSmithFinalReportOnTheSpecialCounselSInvestigationsAndProsecutions #Deposition #HouseJudiciaryCommittee #JackSmith #Jan6 #NationalPublicRadio #NPR #RiotJanuary6th #USCapitol #USCongress #WashingtonDC #WithoutTrump -
Jan. 6 riot ‘does not happen’ without Trump, Jack Smith told Congress – NPR
In this image from video released by the House Judiciary Committee, former special counsel Jack Smith speaks during a deposition Dec. 17, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington.
House Judiciary Committee / APLaw
Capitol riot ‘does not happen’ without Trump, Jack Smith told Congress
December 31, 20259:15 PM ETBy The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The Jan. 6., 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol “does not happen” without Donald Trump, former special counsel Jack Smith told lawmakers earlier this month in characterizing the Republican president as the “most culpable and most responsible person” in the criminal conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Special Counsel Jack Smith, seen here in August 2023, defended his work to House members Wednesday.Law
Jack Smith defends his prosecutions of Trump in closed-door session in CongressThe Republican-led House Judiciary Committee released on Wednesday a transcript and video of a closed-door interview Smith gave about two investigations of Trump. The document shows how Smith during the course of a daylong deposition repeatedly defended the basis for pursuing indictments against Trump and vigorously rejected Republican suggestions that his investigations were politically motivated.
Special counsel Jack Smith delivers remarks on a recently unsealed indictment against Donald Trump in August 2023 in Washington, D.C.Law
Special counsel Jack Smith says evidence against Trump was enough to convict him“The evidence here made clear that President Trump was by a large measure the most culpable and most responsible person in this conspiracy. These crimes were committed for his benefit. The attack that happened at the Capitol, part of this case, does not happen without him. The other co-conspirators were doing this for his benefit,” Smith said, bristling at a question about whether his investigations were meant to prevent Trump from reclaiming the presidency in 2024.
“So in terms of why we would pursue a case against him, I entirely disagree with any characterization that our work was in any way meant to hamper him in the presidential election,” he added.
The Dec. 17 deposition was conducted privately despite Smith’s request to testify publicly. The release of the transcript and video of the interview, so far Smith’s only appearance on Capitol Hill since leaving his special counsel position last January, adds to the public understanding of the decision-making behind two of the most consequential Justice Department investigations in recent history.
Trump was indicted on charges of conspiring to undo the 2020 election he lost to Democrat Joe Biden, and of willfully retaining classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Both cases were abandoned after Trump’s 2024 election win, with Smith citing Justice Department policy against the indictment of a sitting president.
Smith repeatedly made clear his belief that the evidence gathered against Trump was strong enough to sustain a conviction. Part of the strength of the Jan. 6 case, Smith said, was the extent to which it relied on the testimony of Trump allies and supporters who cooperated with the investigation.
“We had an elector in Pennsylvania who is a former congressman, who was going to be an elector for President Trump, who said that what they were trying to do was an attempt to overthrow the government and illegal,” Smith said. “Our case was built on, frankly, Republicans who put their allegiance to the country before the party.”
Editor’s Note: Read the rest of the story, at the below link.
Continue/Read Original Article Here: Jan. 6 riot ‘does not happen’ without Trump, Jack Smith told Congress : NPR
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60 Attorneys on the Year of Chaos Inside Trump’s Justice Department – The New York Times Magazine
“They didn’t want the ethics office calling them up and telling them what to do.”
Joseph Tirrell, former director of the Departmental Ethics Office“If we’re indicting people because the president hates them, that’s counter to the whole point of doing my job.” Mike Romano, former prosecutor in the Public Integrity Section“Our job wasn’t to engage in fact-finding investigations; our job was to find the facts that would fit the narrative.” Dena Robinson, former lawyer in the Civil Rights DivisionThe Unraveling of the Justice Department, New York Times Magazine
Sixty attorneys describe a year of chaos and suspicion.
By Emily Bazelon and Rachel Poser, Photographs by Stephen Voss, Nov. 16, 2025
President Trump’s second term has brought a period of turmoil and controversy unlike any in the history of the Justice Department. Trump and his appointees have blasted through the walls designed to protect the nation’s most powerful law enforcement agency from political influence; they have directed the course of criminal investigations, openly flouted ethics rules and caused a breakdown of institutional culture. To date, more than 200 career attorneys have been fired, and thousands more have resigned. (The Justice Department says many of them have been replaced.)
What was it like inside this institution as Trump’s officials took control? It’s not an easy question to answer. Justice Department norms dictate that career attorneys, who are generally nonpartisan public servants, rarely speak to the press. And the Trump administration’s attempts to crack down on leaks have made all federal employees fearful of sharing information.
But the exodus of lawyers has created an opportunity to understand what’s happening within the agency. We interviewed more than 60 attorneys who recently resigned or were fired from the Justice Department. Much of what they told us is reported here for the first time.
Beginning with Trump’s first day in office, the lawyers narrated the events that most alarmed them over the next 10 months. They described being asked to drop cases for political reasons, to find evidence for flimsy investigations and to take positions in court they thought had no legitimate basis. They also talked about the work they and their colleagues were told to abandon — investigations of terrorist plots, corruption and white-collar fraud.
Some spoke on the condition of anonymity because they feared retaliation against them or their new employers. We corroborated their accounts with multiple sources, interviewing their colleagues to confirm the details of what they described and reviewing court documents and contemporaneous notes. We also sent a list of questions to the Justice Department and the White House. “This story is a useless collection of recycled, debunked hearsay from disgruntled former employees,” a spokeswoman for the D.O.J. responded in an email. “Targeting the department’s political leadership while ignoring the questionable conduct of former attorneys who do not have the American people’s best interest at heart shows exactly how biased this story is, and further illustrates why Americans are turning away from biased, outdated legacy media platforms.”
Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman, sent this statement: “These are nothing more than pathetic complaints lodged by anti-Trump government workers. President Trump is working on behalf of the millions of Americans who voted for him all across the country, not the D.C. bureaucrats who try to stymie the American people’s agenda at every turn.”
The attorneys who spoke to us for this project, many of whom have spent decades in government service, disagree.
On his first day in office, President Trump made it clear that lawyers loyal to him would lead the Justice Department. One of his personal defense attorneys, Emil Bove, became the temporary No. 2, and Trump nominated another of his lawyers, Todd Blanche, to take the position permanently once the Senate confirmed him.
Trump also undid one of the largest investigations in the Justice Department’s history by pardoning or commuting the sentences of the nearly 1,600 rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The group included more than 200 defendants who were convicted of assaulting law enforcement officers.
Prosecutors said they were in disbelief when President Trump pardoned or commuted the sentences of Jan. 6 rioters. Ashley Gilbertson for The New York Times.Ryan Crosswell, Public Integrity Section, which handles corruption cases: When I saw it was Blanche and Bove, I was actually relieved. OK, it’s gross that they were Trump’s personal attorneys, but before that they were federal prosecutors in New York. They’ve done the job. They know the prosecutors’ code. We’re the only lawyers whose job is not to get the best result for our client. Our job is to get justice. Sometimes that means losing or walking into court and saying we made a mistake.
But then things were 10 times worse than I thought they would be.
Liz Oyer, pardon attorney: We had no knowledge that the Jan. 6 pardons were coming on Day 1. Everybody was concerned that our office was being completely sidelined from the review process.
Gregory Rosen, chief of the breach and assault unit of the Capitol Siege Section, which prosecuted the Jan. 6 rioters: When I was alerted to the pardons, a lot of thoughts ran through my head about how absurd this could get, but first I had to do my job. We had to ask, Did we believe the order was lawful and constitutional?
My team and I determined that it was. The president has the right to pardon people and commute their sentences. So then it was a blitzkrieg of hundreds of cases. We stepped to it.
I was numb. As career prosecutors, we don’t talk about our feelings. We’re not partisans. We’re public servants just doing the job. Early on, we stayed away from using emotional language about our own reactions.
Mike Romano, Jan. 6 prosecutor: Anyone who spent any time working on Jan. 6 cases saw how violent a day that was. I’d spent four years living with that day, the things done to people. It’s incredibly demoralizing to see something you worked on for four years wiped away by a lie — I mean the idea that prosecution of the rioters was a grave national injustice. We had strong evidence against every person we prosecuted. And I knew that if they’re going to wipe all of that away based on a lie, either I’ll be fired as retaliation or pretext or asked to do something unethical. Or both.
Until that point, I’d hoped the second Trump term would be similar to the first one, or similar enough for a while. Then the pardons came down and I knew, in light of that, there is no way I can stay.
Trump appointed Ed Martin, another longtime ally, as interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. Martin had promoted Trump’s baseless claims of election fraud in 2020 and then turned to the cause of defending the Jan. 6 rioters. He had never worked as a prosecutor.
Martin soon fired 15 attorneys in the Capitol Siege Section who prosecuted the Jan. 6 defendants. They joined more than a dozen other prosecutors fired for working under the special counsel, Jack Smith, on the criminal investigations of President Trump. According to the D.O.J.’s new leadership, they could not be trusted to “faithfully implement” the president’s agenda.
Gregory Rosen, Capitol Siege Section: When 15 employees were fired from the Capitol Siege Section, I was the angriest I’ve ever been. Most of them were younger attorneys. I’d hired them. They came from firms, federal and state government, all over. But some naïve part of me thought, Maybe this is the new leadership’s “pound of flesh.”
Prosecutor, Capitol Siege Section: It was inconceivable to me they’d fire people for no reason except they’d worked on cases that were now disfavored. People like me, who are career attorneys, work within a structure. We don’t have much latitude. To be told that you are being punished for your decisions, when you were following guidance created by very talented and skilled prosecutors above you, which judges blessed for the most part — it’s completely bizarre. It flipped the culture of the institution. It’s a culture now of fear. And they are losing people all the time, very good people, who were the future of the department.
Editor’s Note: Please look at and read the narratives and share the post as you can. This is a case study of how Democracy is lost; how Justice in America is corrupted; by one man, one party, one President who is unfit for office. This is not the people’s DOJ any longer.
Continue/Read Original Article Here: 60 Attorneys on the Year of Chaos Inside Trump’s Justice Department – The New York Times
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Former Jan. 6 defendant who called cops ‘Nazis’ gets DOJ job : NPR
August 7, 20255:00 AM ET, Heard on All Things Considered
By Tom Dreisbach, 4-Minute Listen Transcript
Police bodycam footage introduced at the trial of Jared Wise showed him berating police officers on Jan. 6, 2021, and yelling “kill ’em” as rioters attacked law enforcement.
Less than five years after urging rioters to “kill” police at the Capitol, a former Jan. 6 defendant is working as a senior adviser for the Department of Justice, which has been dramatically remade under the second Trump administration.
NPR has obtained police bodycam footage from multiple angles of the former defendant and current administration official, Jared Wise, berating officers and calling them “Nazi” and “Gestapo.” NPR located the footage, which has not previously been published, in a review of thousands of court exhibits from Jan. 6 criminal cases, obtained through legal action by a coalition of media organizations. The Department of Justice had introduced the footage as an exhibit in Wise’s trial. NPR also obtained the transcript of Wise’s testimony, in which he acknowledged that he repeatedly yelled “kill ’em” as officers were being attacked and tried to explain his actions. Wise was not convicted of any crimes related to Jan. 6, due to President Trump’s order to end all Capitol riot prosecutions.
A Department of Justice spokesperson said in a statement, “Jared Wise is a valued member of the Justice Department and we appreciate his contributions to our team.”
The videos depict a tense period in the middle of the riot that day.
The Capitol building had been breached two hours earlier, with doors knocked off hinges and windows smashed. The air was thick with pepper spray. The vice president, along with members of Congress, had been forced to evacuate and halt the certification of the 2020 election, as rioters yelled, “give them the rope,” “hang Mike Pence” and “traitors get the guillotine.”
Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as rioters storm the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Brent Stirton / Getty ImagesThe Capitol grounds were almost entirely overrun with angry Trump supporters, many of whom had assaulted police with weapons including a bat, a hockey stick, stun guns, metal bars and chemical sprays. Law enforcement officers were bruised, bloodied and, in some cases, temporarily blinded from the attacks, but still trying to hold the line where they could.
At 4:21p.m., Wise stepped up to a police line on the upper west terrace of the building.
Wise had already entered the Capitol through a door that was forced open, exiting about 10 minutes later through a broken window, according to charging documents. He remained on Capitol grounds for hours during the ongoing chaos.
“You guys are disgusting,” Wise told the officers, as captured in the bodycam footage. “I’m former law enforcement. You’re disgusting. You are the Nazi. You are the Gestapo.”
Continue/Read Original Article Here: Former Jan. 6 defendant who called cops ‘Nazis’ gets DOJ job : NPR
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