Jack Smith Claims He Had ‘Proof Beyond Reasonable Doubt’ That Trump Conspired to Overturn 2020 Election

Jack Smith, the former DOJ special counsel, claimed in closed-door congressional testimony on Wednesday that investigators had proof “beyond a reasonable doubt” that President Donald Trump “criminally” conspired to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

Smith made the remarks in his opening statement to lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.

“I made my decisions in the investigation without regard to President Trump’s political association, activities, beliefs, or candidacy in the 2024 election,” Smith said in his opening statement, which was obtained in advance by the Associated Press. “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 added that his probe had “developed powerful evidence that showed President Trump willfully retained highly classified documents after he left office in January 2021, storing them at his social club, including in a bathroom and a ballroom where events and gatherings took place.”

Smith’s investigation, which began in 2022, focused on Trump’s alleged effort to overturn his 2020 election loss, as well as the classified documents that were stored at Mar-a-Lago. Charges were filed in both investigations, but Trump escaped prosecution due to the longstanding DOJ policy against the indictment of a sitting president.

The remarks will likely rile up Trump, who has relentlessly maintained for years that he is innocent of any election tampering.

In October, the president turned his ire toward Smith in a Truth Social post, calling him a “CRIMINAL,” “MAJOR LOWLIFE,” and “FAILURE” who “SHOULD BE IN JAIL.”

This is a developing story and has been updated.