Former special counsel Jack Smith’s public testimony Thursday should have been a sober accounting of the criminal investigations into President Donald Trump and the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Instead, the hearing predictably devolved into a scripted parody of reality TV.
Over the course of five hours, Republicans meticulously avoided discussing the substance of what Smith described as Trump’s “criminal scheme” to overturn the 2020 election. Rather than engaging with the evidence, they retreated into well-worn political grievances and attempts to impugn Smith’s character.
Smith’s multi-year investigations resulted in two federal indictments against Trump, convictions of nearly 1,300 Jan. 6 rioters and incalculable controversy. Thursday’s hearing provided a rare opportunity for transparency. It was a chance for lawmakers to scrutinize the evidence underlying the prosecutions, challenge Smith’s decision-making and confirm the absence of political influence behind the special counsel’s work. And both parties saw value in having Smith repeat his earlier testimony in a televised setting: Democrats aimed to showcase a methodical, evidence-based investigation, while Republicans sought to discredit Smith’s methods and rewrite the history of that day.
However, on Thursday, Republicans continued the misdirection-driven circus.
This is a preview of Andrew Warren’s latest column. Read the full column here.
