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Former special counsel Jack Smith was giving a closed-door deposition to the House Judiciary Committee. He had asked to testify in public.

Former special counsel Jack Smith spoke to the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday after many House Republicans made public allegations about him and his work investigating President Donald Trump. In an effort to set the record straight, Smith said he would testify and answer questions before the committee, but only in a public hearing. Republican committee leaders refused to allow for this, instead holding the hearing behind closed doors. New York Times reporter Glenn Thrush posted on X that Smith, in his opening statement, said, “The decision to bring charges against President Trump was mine, but the basis for those charges rests entirely with President Trump and his actions…” “Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and to prevent the lawful transfer of power," Smith continued. Smith worked on two main cases. First, the allegations that Trump stole documents from the White House upon leaving office, including classified materials, and refused to return them. The second case involved investigating Trump for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Smith told the members that he gathered “powerful evidence” for the classified documents case from Trump's Mar-a-Lago country club in Palm Beach, Florida. He also said that he uncovered evidence showing efforts to obstruct that investigation as well. “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, according to the AP. “We took actions based on what the facts and the law required — the very lesson I learned early in my career as a prosecutor.” If asked whether he would “prosecute a former president based on the same facts today, I would do so regardless of whether the president was a Republican or Democrat," said Smith. Trump told reporters at the White House, “I’d rather see him testify publicly. There’s no way he can answer the questions.” According to CBS News reporter Scott MacFarlane, Smith also stated, "Exploiting that violence, [President] Trump [and] his associates tried to call Members of Congress in furtherance of their criminal scheme, urging them to further delay certification of the 2020 election. I didn’t choose those Members; President Trump did”Attorney for Former Special Counsel Jack Smith, Lanny Breuer: "In today testifying before this committee, Jack is showing tremendous courage in light of the remarkable and unprecedented retribution campaign against him by this administration and this White House." pic.twitter.com/SlLQvevFbp — CSPAN (@cspan) December 17, 2025

U.S. President Donald Trump aggressively defended his economic record during his address to the nation on Wednesday night, December 17. Trump's overtly partisan speech often sounded like a MAGA rally, with the president repeatedly claiming — falsely — that he inherited a broken economy from Democratic former President Joe Biden. But in fact, the United States enjoyed record-low unemployment levels during Biden's presidency — including 3.7 percent in November 2022, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). And many polls are showing widespread dissatisfaction with Trump on the economy. One of them is a poll conducted by conservative network Fox News from December 12-15. The poll found that while Trump's overall approval is 44 percent, only 39 percent of respondents approve of his handling of the economy. And a mere 28 percent described economic conditions in the U.S. as either excellent or good. Newsweek's Mandy Taheri notes that inflation remains a daunting problem for Trump. "On Thursday," Taheri reports, "the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the delayed Consumer Price Index (CPI) for November, revealing that the 12-month rate of inflation stood at 2.7 percent. Core inflation — excluding the volatile food and energy categories — also slowed to 2.6 percent from three percent in September, reaching its lowest rate since March 2021." The Fox News poll, Taheri points out, isn't the only one showing that Trump is underwater on the economy. "Other polls, such as an Associated Press-NORC poll, have found unfavorable ratings for Trump," Taheri explains. "Conducted between December 4 and 8, the AP-NORC poll found that only 31 percent of Americans approve of Trump's handling of the economy, down from 40 percent in March, marking the lowest economic approval rating measured of his first or second term with this particular pollster." Democratic strategists and organizers are pushing back against Trump claims that the U.S. economy is booming. Democratic National Committee Rapid Response Director Kendall Witmer told Newsweek, "Donald Trump's train wreck of an economy is catching up to him, and it's no wonder voters are pissed. Trump promised to 'lower costs on Day One,' but prices are soaring, and good-paying jobs are out of reach for everyday Americans. Trump's plan of action so far has been to call affordability a 'hoax' and tell Americans not to 'be dramatic.' Meanwhile, working families are skipping meals, forgoing critical medical care, and depleting their savings as Trump doubles down on his disastrous economic policies." Read Mandy Taheri's full article for Newsweek at this link.

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