Eric Swalwell Launches Haymaker on Fellow Lawmakers During Jack Smith Hearing: ‘My Republican Colleagues Are a Joke!’

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) took a buzzsaw to his Republican colleagues on Thursday, calling them “a joke” as he told former special counsel Jack Smith that he “did everything right” in his investigation of President Donald Trump.

Speaking during Smith’s public hearing before the House Judiciary Committee, Swalwell began by saying that Smith, as well as Capitol police officers on January 6, “did everything right.”

He then went on to attack fellow lawmakers on the other side of the political aisle, accusing them of showing a different opinion of Trump behind closed doors.

“These guys, my Republican colleagues, are a joke,” Swalwell said. “They are wrong. History will harshly judge them. I want you to lean in today. You have nothing to be ashamed of. You did everything right. And these guys are so lucky that they are not under oath because they would have to tell you what they really think of Trump. They call him crooked. They called him cruel. They called him a scumbag. I’ve heard you all say it.”

Read more of Swalwell’s words below:

Mr. Smith, I want you to have the utmost confidence in what you did. You did everything right. Harry Dunn, Danny Hodges, they did everything right. These guys, my Republican colleagues, are a joke. They are wrong. History will harshly judge them. I want you to lean in today. You have nothing to be ashamed of. You did everything right. And these guys are so lucky that they are not under oath because they would have to tell you what they really think of Trump. They call him crooked. They call him cruel. They call him a scumbag. I’ve heard you all say it. You’re lucky you’re not under Trump. But when the lights go on and the cameras go on, you are tiny, you are small, you shrink. Everyone remembers Matt Gaetz coming over here after a committee hearing. He would laugh at how stupid he thought Trump was. This is all a show. And Mr. Smith, you are just the latest act that they have brought in. But they can’t erase what happened on January 6, because we saw it with our own eyes.

In closing, Swalwell maintained that he and other lawmakers have his back:

Mr. Smith, I don’t know if I’ll ever have the honor of talking to you again. If I don’t, please know that I, and my colleagues on the Democratic side — and even my Republican colleagues when they speak privately — have nothing but respect and appreciation for what you tried to do and how you did it. You, unlike many here, are a man of honor, and I yield back.

Earlier in the hearing, Smith — who brought criminal charges against Trump over his attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, ultimately leading up to the January 6 Capitol riot, and his retention of classified documents after leaving the presidency in 2021 — attacked Trump in a blistering opening statement.

“I’m proud of the work my team did, and I appreciate the opportunity to appear here today to correct false and misleading narratives about our work,” said Smith.

Watch above via Fox News.

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