Jack Smith Will Not Save Us
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Politics
/ January 23, 2026
Jack Smith Will Not Save Us
Smith performed honorably, but no one person or investigation can protect America from Trump.
Joan Walsh
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Former US special counsel Jack Smith is sworn in before he testifies before the House Judiciary Committee about his investigations into President Donald Trump.
(Alex Wroblewski / AFP via Getty Images)
The New York Times said he appeared “wan and tired” on Thursday. I wouldn’t have described former special counsel Jack Smith that way; maybe “depressed.” But maybe that’s projection. Smith has been defiantly asking House Republicans to let him testify publicly about his investigations and indictments of Donald Trump. On Thursday, rather unexpectedly, they allowed it. Also unexpectedly, he did not seem defiant. He seemed resigned to the futility of his cause, and the likelihood that he and his colleagues would continue to be persecuted, if not prosecuted, for their work.
That depressed me. It shouldn’t have. We already knew Smith had to drop his cases against Trump when, unbelievably, the American people made him president again, despite widespread evidence of the disgraced, twice-impeached huckster’s many crimes. The House January 6 Select Committee laid a lot of it out publicly. Smith, even after dropping his cases, made his investigative findings public in a brutal report last year. He testified privately before the House Judiciary Committee on December 17, and over the holidays Republicans released a transcript and video of that appearance, which also laid out the foundations of his very thorough case against Trump. I wasn’t sure why House Republicans decided to let Smith testify publicly on Thursday; some news analysts suggested perhaps they were laying a perjury trap for him, trying to give corrupt Attorney General Pam Bondi ammunition to prosecute him.
Trump apparently hoped so too. Mid-testimony, he posted on social media: “Jack Smith is a deranged animal, who shouldn’t be allowed to practice Law” and suggested that “hopefully” Bondi is “looking at what he’s done.”
Current Issue
February 2026 Issue
If so, she probably didn’t find much, if anything (not that truth matters to Trump or his minions). Smith carefully repeated a lot of his December testimony, sometimes verbatim. He didn’t respond to Republican derision or Democratic praise. He seemed, to be honest, defeated. Which I guess he is.
I’m not saying he pulled any punches. “Our investigation revealed that Donald Trump is the person who caused January 6, that it was foreseeable to him and that he sought to exploit the violence,” he told the committee. He went on: “No one should be above the …
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Jack Smith Will Not Save Us
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Current Issue
Politics
/ January 23, 2026
Jack Smith Will Not Save Us
Smith performed honorably, but no one person or investigation can protect America from Trump.
Joan Walsh
Share
Copy Link
X (Twitter)
Bluesky Pocket
Ad Policy
Former US special counsel Jack Smith is sworn in before he testifies before the House Judiciary Committee about his investigations into President Donald Trump.
(Alex Wroblewski / AFP via Getty Images)
The New York Times said he appeared “wan and tired” on Thursday. I wouldn’t have described former special counsel Jack Smith that way; maybe “depressed.” But maybe that’s projection. Smith has been defiantly asking House Republicans to let him testify publicly about his investigations and indictments of Donald Trump. On Thursday, rather unexpectedly, they allowed it. Also unexpectedly, he did not seem defiant. He seemed resigned to the futility of his cause, and the likelihood that he and his colleagues would continue to be persecuted, if not prosecuted, for their work.
That depressed me. It shouldn’t have. We already knew Smith had to drop his cases against Trump when, unbelievably, the American people made him president again, despite widespread evidence of the disgraced, twice-impeached huckster’s many crimes. The House January 6 Select Committee laid a lot of it out publicly. Smith, even after dropping his cases, made his investigative findings public in a brutal report last year. He testified privately before the House Judiciary Committee on December 17, and over the holidays Republicans released a transcript and video of that appearance, which also laid out the foundations of his very thorough case against Trump. I wasn’t sure why House Republicans decided to let Smith testify publicly on Thursday; some news analysts suggested perhaps they were laying a perjury trap for him, trying to give corrupt Attorney General Pam Bondi ammunition to prosecute him.
Trump apparently hoped so too. Mid-testimony, he posted on social media: “Jack Smith is a deranged animal, who shouldn’t be allowed to practice Law” and suggested that “hopefully” Bondi is “looking at what he’s done.”
Current Issue
February 2026 Issue
If so, she probably didn’t find much, if anything (not that truth matters to Trump or his minions). Smith carefully repeated a lot of his December testimony, sometimes verbatim. He didn’t respond to Republican derision or Democratic praise. He seemed, to be honest, defeated. Which I guess he is.
I’m not saying he pulled any punches. “Our investigation revealed that Donald Trump is the person who caused January 6, that it was foreseeable to him and that he sought to exploit the violence,” he told the committee. He went on: “No one should be above the …
Jack Smith Will Not Save Us
Are they actually going to vote on something real?
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Jack Smith Will Not Save Us
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Search
Subscribe
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Politics
World
Economy
Culture
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Current Issue
Politics
/ January 23, 2026
Jack Smith Will Not Save Us
Smith performed honorably, but no one person or investigation can protect America from Trump.
Joan Walsh
Share
Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky Pocket
Email
Ad Policy
Former US special counsel Jack Smith is sworn in before he testifies before the House Judiciary Committee about his investigations into President Donald Trump.
(Alex Wroblewski / AFP via Getty Images)
The New York Times said he appeared “wan and tired” on Thursday. I wouldn’t have described former special counsel Jack Smith that way; maybe “depressed.” But maybe that’s projection. Smith has been defiantly asking House Republicans to let him testify publicly about his investigations and indictments of Donald Trump. On Thursday, rather unexpectedly, they allowed it. Also unexpectedly, he did not seem defiant. He seemed resigned to the futility of his cause, and the likelihood that he and his colleagues would continue to be persecuted, if not prosecuted, for their work.
That depressed me. It shouldn’t have. We already knew Smith had to drop his cases against Trump when, unbelievably, the American people made him president again, despite widespread evidence of the disgraced, twice-impeached huckster’s many crimes. The House January 6 Select Committee laid a lot of it out publicly. Smith, even after dropping his cases, made his investigative findings public in a brutal report last year. He testified privately before the House Judiciary Committee on December 17, and over the holidays Republicans released a transcript and video of that appearance, which also laid out the foundations of his very thorough case against Trump. I wasn’t sure why House Republicans decided to let Smith testify publicly on Thursday; some news analysts suggested perhaps they were laying a perjury trap for him, trying to give corrupt Attorney General Pam Bondi ammunition to prosecute him.
Trump apparently hoped so too. Mid-testimony, he posted on social media: “Jack Smith is a deranged animal, who shouldn’t be allowed to practice Law” and suggested that “hopefully” Bondi is “looking at what he’s done.”
Current Issue
February 2026 Issue
If so, she probably didn’t find much, if anything (not that truth matters to Trump or his minions). Smith carefully repeated a lot of his December testimony, sometimes verbatim. He didn’t respond to Republican derision or Democratic praise. He seemed, to be honest, defeated. Which I guess he is.
I’m not saying he pulled any punches. “Our investigation revealed that Donald Trump is the person who caused January 6, that it was foreseeable to him and that he sought to exploit the violence,” he told the committee. He went on: “No one should be above the …
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