Trump’s attacks on civil servants threaten rule of law, ex-special counsel Jack Smith warns

President Donald Trump is threatening the primacy of law in the United States by attacking civil servants previously assigned to probes against him, Jack Smith, the former special counsel for the Department of Justice (DOJ), said in a congressional hearing Thursday.

Smith issued the warning while testifying on the two criminal investigations he led into Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election and the president’s mishandling of classified documents after his first term.

After returning to the White House, Trump and his political appointees have sought to purge the DOJ and FBI of individuals who were members of Smith’s team, part of a wider effort to bend the country’s top law enforcement agencies to serve the president’s personal aims.

In his opening remarks before the House Judiciary Committee, Smith defended his team’s work and said the Trump administration’s retaliatory actions constituted an assault on independent law enforcement.

“President Trump has sought to seek revenge against career prosecutors, FBI agents and support staff for having worked on these cases,” Smith said. “To vilify and seek retribution against these people is wrong. Those dedicated public servants are the best of us.”

Relying on his past experience as an international war crimes prosecutor, Smith warned that the U.S. is at risk of losing the fundamental, defining feature of a functioning democracy: the rule of law.

“After nearly 30 years of public service, including in international settings, I have seen how the rule of law can erode,” Smith said. “My fear is that we have seen the rule of law function in our country for so long that many of us have come to take it for granted.”

“The rule of law is not self-executing,” he continued. “It depends on our collective commitment to apply it. It requires service on behalf of others, especially when that service is difficult and comes with costs. Our willingness to pay those costs is what tests and defines commitment to the rule of law of this wonderful country.”

Thursday’s hearing marks the first time Smith has testified publicly about the two investigations into Trump.

The probes resulted in two separate indictments containing 44 different criminal charges in total. However, both cases were dismissed in 2024 after Trump’s victory in the presidential election.

During the hearing, Trump called Smith “a deranged animal” in a post on social media and said that he hoped that Attorney General Pam Bondi was “looking at what he’s done.”

It wasn’t the first time Trump had publicly attacked Smith.

In the Oval Office last year, Trump called Smith a “criminal” and said he hoped someone would “look into” him. The message was clearly intended for Bondi, who was standing next to the president.

Since his return to the White House, Trump has repeatedly and publicly attacked Smith and has called for his arrest.

In the Oval Office last year, Trump called Smith “deranged” and a “criminal” and said he hoped someone would “look into” him. The message was clearly intended for Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was standing next to the president.

Asked about Trump’s personal attacks, Smith said he believed they were meant to intimidate him and others who “stand up.”

“I’m not going to be intimidated,” he said. “We did our work pursuant to department policy. We followed the facts. We followed the law. And that process resulted in proof beyond a reasonable doubt that [Trump] committed serious crimes. And I’m not going to pretend that didn’t happen because he’s threatening me.”

In August, the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), an agency that oversees the conduct of federal employees, publicly confirmed it was investigating Smith over allegations he engaged in unlawful political activity by bringing criminal charges against Trump.

The probe, the status of which is unclear, was highly unusual for the OSC, which is meant to operate in a non-partisan manner independent of the White House. However, several months earlier, Trump fired the previous OSC leader and installed loyalists to lead the office.

Thursday’s hearing represented a reversal for the House Judiciary Committee’s Republican Chairman Jim Jordan (Ohio).

Previously, Jordan had denied Smith’s request to speak publicly about the Trump investigations and instead ordered a closed-door hearing, which took place in December.

This story has been updated with additional information throughout.