By Jack Phillips

President Donald Trump weighed in on a subpoena that was sent by House Republicans for former special counsel Jack Smith to testify later this month.

Smith, who had brought felony federal charges in two cases against Trump before he won a second term in the White House, was issued a subpoena by House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) on Wednesday, asking him to testify during a deposition.

When asked about the subpoena, Trump said that he would want to see Smith testify in public rather than in private.

“I’d rather see it probably at a hearing,” Trump said before he criticized Smith and the two cases.

Trump said Smith “hurt a lot of people,” adding, “Forget about me.”

Trump later added that he would “rather see him testify publicly, because there’s no way he can answer the questions,” also suggesting that officials in the Biden administration were directing the investigations into him.

In the letter to Smith, which Jordan posted on X, the lawmaker asked him for testimony as well as documents and communications in connection to his investigations. He said that the information should pertain “specifically” to “your team’s prosecution of President Donald J. Trump and his co-defendants.”

The subpoena from Jordan comes after Smith’s public calls to allow him to testify in public about the cases and investigations.

Peter Koski, an attorney for Smith, told news outlets on Wednesday that Smith wants to have the meeting with lawmakers in the committee “later this month to discuss his work and clarify the various misconceptions about his investigation.”

“Nearly six weeks ago Jack offered to voluntarily appear before the House Judiciary committee in an open hearing,” the statement added. “We are disappointed that offer was rejected, and that the American people will be denied the opportunity to hear directly from Jack on these topics.”

The Epoch Times contacted his attorneys for comment on Wednesday but received no response by publication time.

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the Judiciary Committee’s top Democrat, said that Smith did not act inappropriately and questioned why GOP lawmakers want to have Smith testify behind closed doors.

“As documents obtained by the Judiciary Committee consistently confirm, Special Counsel Smith followed well-established legal principles, protocols, and guidance at every step of this investigation into an attempted political coup and insurrection,” he said in a statement on Wednesday.

Smith in January released a report to the Department of Justice (DOJ) defending his work. He resigned from his position days before Trump took office.

The special counsel charged Trump in Florida over the retention of classified documents, and in Washington over his challenging the results of the 2020 election. Trump pleaded not guilty in the cases, saying they were part of a politically motivated witch hunt designed to denigrate his political movement and reelection efforts.

The president has also long said that Smith was acting in a partisan manner, an assertion that Smith denied in his January report.

Earlier this week, Trump’s attorneys argued in a federal court that the final report from Smith regarding the classified documents case should not be made public. They called on U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon to extend an order blocking the DOJ from releasing those documents, saying that doing otherwise would effectively be condoning Smith’s “unlawful criminal investigations and proceedings.”

In July 2024, Cannon dismissed the indictment that Smith had brought against Trump, prompting the DOJ to appeal before it dropped the case after Trump’s election victory last year.

By Jack Phillips

President Donald Trump weighed in on a subpoena that was sent by House Republicans for former special counsel Jack Smith to testify later this month.

Smith, who had brought felony federal charges in two cases against Trump before he won a second term in the White House, was issued a subpoena by House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) on Wednesday, asking him to testify during a deposition.

When asked about the subpoena, Trump said that he would want to see Smith testify in public rather than in private.

“I’d rather see it probably at a hearing,” Trump said before he criticized Smith and the two cases.

Trump said Smith “hurt a lot of people,” adding, “Forget about me.”

Trump later added that he would “rather see him testify publicly, because there’s no way he can answer the questions,” also suggesting that officials in the Biden administration were directing the investigations into him.

In the letter to Smith, which Jordan posted on X, the lawmaker asked him for testimony as well as documents and communications in connection to his investigations. He said that the information should pertain “specifically” to “your team’s prosecution of President Donald J. Trump and his co-defendants.”

The subpoena from Jordan comes after Smith’s public calls to allow him to testify in public about the cases and investigations.

Peter Koski, an attorney for Smith, told news outlets on Wednesday that Smith wants to have the meeting with lawmakers in the committee “later this month to discuss his work and clarify the various misconceptions about his investigation.”

“Nearly six weeks ago Jack offered to voluntarily appear before the House Judiciary committee in an open hearing,” the statement added. “We are disappointed that offer was rejected, and that the American people will be denied the opportunity to hear directly from Jack on these topics.”

The Epoch Times contacted his attorneys for comment on Wednesday but received no response by publication time.

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the Judiciary Committee’s top Democrat, said that Smith did not act inappropriately and questioned why GOP lawmakers want to have Smith testify behind closed doors.

“As documents obtained by the Judiciary Committee consistently confirm, Special Counsel Smith followed well-established legal principles, protocols, and guidance at every step of this investigation into an attempted political coup and insurrection,” he said in a statement on Wednesday.

Smith in January released a report to the Department of Justice (DOJ) defending his work. He resigned from his position days before Trump took office.

The special counsel charged Trump in Florida over the retention of classified documents, and in Washington over his challenging the results of the 2020 election. Trump pleaded not guilty in the cases, saying they were part of a politically motivated witch hunt designed to denigrate his political movement and reelection efforts.

The president has also long said that Smith was acting in a partisan manner, an assertion that Smith denied in his January report.

Earlier this week, Trump’s attorneys argued in a federal court that the final report from Smith regarding the classified documents case should not be made public. They called on U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon to extend an order blocking the DOJ from releasing those documents, saying that doing otherwise would effectively be condoning Smith’s “unlawful criminal investigations and proceedings.”

In July 2024, Cannon dismissed the indictment that Smith had brought against Trump, prompting the DOJ to appeal before it dropped the case after Trump’s election victory last year.