Former special counsel Jack Smith testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington on Sept. 29, defending his criminal investigations and indictments of President Donald Trump, and saying the work was legally justified, according to multiple news reports and committee records. The hearing is the latest development in jack smith news this week.
Smith faced sustained questioning from Republican senators who accused him of abusing his authority in the probes, and he pushed back, telling lawmakers he “will not be silenced,” Reuters reported and C-SPAN posted from the hearing livestream.
Committee materials on the Senate Judiciary Committee website list a full-committee hearing titled “Oversight of Jack Smith’s Abuse of Authority” for Sept. 29, 2026, and coverage from AP and PBS summarized the exchanges as tense and partisan as Smith defended both the election-interference and classified-documents investigations.
During the session Smith repeatedly rejected suggestions his decisions were politically motivated, and he stood by the charging decisions, Politico and The Washington Post reported from the Capitol. Video of portions of his testimony was posted by C-SPAN.
Legal and political analysts framed the hearing as a Republican effort to discredit the investigations; AP noted it offered GOP senators a forum to argue Smith overreached, while PBS and NBC placed the hearing in the context of ongoing partisan oversight of the Justice Department.
The hearing follows other recent public confrontations involving Smith, and it comes as related congressional inquiries and lawsuits continue to circulate in coverage of the former special counsel’s actions, reporting that has kept the jack smith news cycle active this month.
Sources
- Reuters — reported Smith told senators he “will not be silenced” and summarized his defense of the prosecutions.
- AP — described the tense, partisan exchanges and Republican accusations of abuse of authority.
- Senate Judiciary Committee — provided the hearing title, date and committee materials for the Sept. 29 hearing.
- C-SPAN — posted video clips of Smith’s testimony from the hearing.
- Politico — covered the exchanges and how Smith defended the charging decisions.
- Washington Post — reported on Smith’s clashes with GOP senators and his statements in the hearing.
- PBS — published a hearing recap noting Smith defended both investigations.
