GOP Reps Lose It as Jack Smith Hearing Backfires

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2:47Ben Meiselas:The MAGA Republican hearing with Special Counsel Jack Smith just blew up in Donald Trump and MAGA's face. We covered the entire Special Counsel Jack Smith hearing live here on the Midas Touch Network, but I want to utilize this video to give you the highlights of what I thought were the most important moments where Special Counsel Jack Smith just stuck the dagger into Donald Trump and these MAGA Republicans, and they do not know what to do. So let's just cover what happened in case you weren't able to watch the full live. Here are some of the highlights. Special counsel Jack Smith began with an opening statement where he talks about why he stands by his decision as special counsel to bring the charges that he did against Donald Trump.

3:34Ben Meiselas:And if he had the opportunity to do it again, whether it was against a Democrat or a Republican who engaged in the same conduct, he would do it again because crimes were committed by Donald Trump. Here play this clip. As I testify before the committee today, I want to be clear. I stand by my decisions as special counsel, including the decision to bring charges against President Trump. Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in criminal activity. If asked whether to prosecute a former president based on the same facts today, I would do so regardless of whether that president was a Democrat or a Republican.

4:17No one, no one should be above the law in this country, and the law required that he be held to account, so that is what I did. To have done otherwise on the facts of these cases would have been to shirk my duties as a prosecutor and as a public servant, of which I had no intention of doing.

4:39Ben Meiselas:Now, the MAGA Republicans prevented Special Counsel Jack Smith from talking about the Mar-a-Lago document case where Donald Trump concealed highly sensitive classified information at Mar-a-Lago because Judge Eileen Cannon is refusing to unseal the records. And the DOJ said that if Jack Smith talks anything, talks about it any more than just like basic, here's what I did without getting into any of the details that she would prosecute him. So here's what Jack Smith says about the Mar-a-Lago document case. Here play this clip. Other than accept his defeat in the 2020 election, President Trump engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results and prevent the lawful transfer of power.

5:24After leaving office in January of 21, President Trump illegally kept classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago social club and repeatedly tried to obstruct justice to conceal his continued retention of those documents. Highly sensitive national security information was held in a ballroom and a bathroom.

5:46Ben Meiselas:Then special counsel Jack Smith says, I just want to let everybody know I'm not going to be intimidated by Donald Trump. I am not going to be intimidated by these threats. I am someone of high integrity and they could threaten me all they want. I'm not backing down. Those people who try to hold him accountable in August, 2023, right after your office indicted him, President Trump shared that playbook on social media for everyone to see, he wrote, if you go after me, I'm coming for you. Trump has said that you, Mr. Smith, should be investigated and put in prison. He called you a disgrace to humanity, a radical left Marxist, a criminal.

6:28In fact, Trump has used the words deranged Jack Smith 185 times on Truth Social. How do you think that these statements have impacted you, your staff and your investigation.

6:45With respect to me, I think the reports, I'm sorry, the statements are meant to intimidate me. I will not be intimidated. I think these statements are also made as a warning to others what will happen if they stand up. And I am, as I say, I'm not going to be intimidated. We did our work pursuant to department policy. We followed the facts and we followed the law. And that process resulted in proof beyond a reasonable doubt that he committed serious crimes. I'm not going to pretend that didn't happen because he's threatening me.

7:21Ben Meiselas:More from special counsel Jack Smith here. And he talks about how Donald Trump pardoning or granting clemency to these January 6th insurrectionists. it was obvious that these people were going to commit more crimes. They're criminals. They're bad people. And so Jack Smith says it's reasonable to believe that they'll commit more crimes than they already are. Here play this clip. As a prosecutor, can you describe why these pardons make our communities less safe and undermine our criminal legal system more broadly?

8:00The people who assaulted police officers and were convicted after trial, in my view and I think in the view of the judges who sentenced them to prison, are dangerous to their community. As you've mentioned, some of these people have already committed crimes against their communities again. And I think all of us, if we're reasonable, know that there's going to be more crimes committed by these people in the future. I do not understand why you would mass pardon people who assaulted police officers. I don't get it.

8:36Ben Meiselas:I never will. And you have Democratic Congress member Jared Moskowitz talking about what hypocrites the MAGA Republicans are for now trying to pretend like January 6th, you know, was just this peaceful day. and what actually happened on January 6th. And so Congress member Moskowitz reads the statements that were made on or around January 6th by Jim Jordan and Ted Cruz and Chip Roy and others. Here play this clip. I hate talking about the present, but you know what? Let's talk about the past real quick. Here are some quotes, because I heard one of my colleagues call you a hypocrite. Here are some quotes from my colleagues.

9:13Chairman Jordan, right after January 6th, stop the violence, support Capitol Police. Ted Cruz, those storming the Capitol need to stop right now. The Constitution protects, but not violence. Chip Roy, today the People's House was attacked, which is an attack on the republic itself. Steve Scalise, United States Capitol Police, saved my life. Lindsey Graham, when it comes to accountability, the president needs to understand his actions were the problem. Troy Nels, oh my God, him again. I'm happy to stand shoulder to shoulder with Capitol Police. Daryl Issa, the violence and turmoil we witnessed in Washington, D.C.

9:45was completely unacceptable. Rep. McClintock, the attack on Capitol strikes the most sacred act of our democracy. And former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, whose name we heard a lot today, what did he have to say about it? Let me be clear. Last week's violence attack on the Capitol was undemocratic, un-American, and criminal. And make no mistake, those who were responsible should be brought to justice. The president bears responsibility. Period. Or exclamation point.

10:12Ben Meiselas:More from Congress member Moskowitz right here about how, you know, these MAGA Republicans sure love to talk about, you know, Hunter Biden and COVID and Barack Obama. But, you know, it seems like they love talking about the past and maybe that's why they're trying to inflict this. They're trying to reenact a civil war now. Here play this clip. I mean, it's just pathetic. But, you know, my colleagues love the past. Mr. Smith loved the past. That's why you're here before Pam Bondi. OK, we haven't had the attorney general here. We didn't have her last year. She's the only one in the cabinet to not come and commit a reference.

10:50But they love the past. Oh, they love talking about January 6th and Hunter Biden and COVID and Barack Obama and Hillary's emails. They love the past. These people love the past so much they're still reenacting the Civil War. OK, love the past. But they hate talking about the present.

11:07Ben Meiselas:Then you had MAGA Republican Troy Nels attack the January 6th police officers. And many of those police officers were there in Congress today. And you'll see Mike Fanone's like, go F yourself, as Troy Nels blames the insurrection on the police officers. Here, play this clip. That is proof, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the crap you were shoveling did not pass the smell test with the American people. To put it bluntly, Mr. Smith, the stink remains on you. And lastly, I would like to quickly address the police officers on January 6th. Mr. Dunn, Mr. Fanone, Mr. Gronel, Mr. Hodges. I'm a member of the new select committee to actually examine, actually examine what happened that day.

11:57And I can tell you, gentlemen, that the fault does not lie with Donald Trump. It lies with Yogananda Pittman and the U.S. Capitol leadership team. We know, we know they had the intelligence and there was going to be a high propensity for violence that day. Claim my time. Yeah, you will be in order. The time belongs to the gentleman from Texas. We've had some disruptions already. We don't need that. But the gentleman may continue.

12:28Ben Meiselas:Then you have Democratic Congress member Ross telling MAGA Republican Jim Jordan, let's enter your statements into the record, please. Play this clip. And the second one is a unanimous consent to enter into their record an interview from March 2024 on the Capitol Hill show, in which you called on those who attacked the Capitol on January 6th to be, quote, held accountable because, quote, that's the way our system does work and should work. Objection. Thank you very much. You have Democratic Congress member Ballant. Here, let's play it. Trump has said that you, Mr. Smith, should be investigated and put in prison.

13:08He called you a disgrace to humanity, a radical left Marxist, a criminal. In fact, Trump has used the words deranged Jack Smith 185 times on Truth Social. How do you think that these statements have impacted you, your staff, and your investigation?

13:31With respect to me, I think the reports, I'm sorry, the statements are meant to intimidate me. I will not be intimidated. I think these statements are also made as a warning to others what will happen if they stand up. And I am, as I say, I'm not going to be intimidated. We did our work pursuant to department policy. We followed the facts and we followed the law. And that process resulted in proof beyond a reasonable doubt that he committed serious crimes. I'm not going to pretend that didn't happen because he's threatening me. And Mr. Smith, do you believe that President Trump's Department of Justice will find some way to indict you?

14:17I believe they will do everything in their power to do that because they've been ordered to by the president. That's very concerning, obviously. It's very concerning to all of us, at least on this side of the aisle. This is Trump's playbook at work. Complain loudly, gin up hatred and resentment, then express our hope that somebody will do something, but never explicitly order anyone to act. and then watch as his followers and loyalists go after their targets. This is what happened on January 6th. Trump stood at the ellipse and gave a campaign speech to his supporters. And he said, if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore.

14:57And I think it's clear that his intimidation will stop at nothing.

15:03Ben Meiselas:MAGA Republican Congress member Van Drew just starts like yelling at Jack Smith. Like unhinged to hear play this clip. Because there's so much, Mr. Smith. There really is. But it isn't. What I do know is it's much more than how much people like or hate you or like or hate Donald Trump or like or hate Republicans or like or hate Democrats. This is about the system. It's about what the Department of Justice did. It's about what you did. The core of the hearing is all about can Americans still trust the justice system? Is it fair? Was it fair under you? And all they expect, they don't expect you to be perfect, but they expect you to treat everyone the same, Republicans and Democrats, liberals and conservatives.

15:51But that wasn't the case. when you treat people differently because of their political status, their political party, their ideals, that's hypocrisy. And I'm sorry to say, and I don't say it lightly,

16:07Ben Meiselas:I do consider you to be a hypocrite. Now, Jamie Raskin, and he's the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, that's where this was all taking place. Here, he uses his time to talk about how you can't claim First Amendment protections like Donald Trump is trying to when you use speech to commit crimes. Like all crimes involve words of some sort, right? And you can't be like, oh, I've got a First Amendment right because it was speaking. Yeah, but if you engage in a crime that's not protected, here, play this clip. Let's go to something else that I've been hearing over the last week by our colleagues as they've eagerly anticipated your arrival here, they've been saying that there's some kind of First Amendment defense that Donald Trump would have had to the crimes you indicted him for.

16:54Is there a valid First Amendment defense to defrauding the public? Is there a valid First Amendment defense to disrupting a federal proceeding? Is there a valid First Amendment defense to violating the voting rights of the people and cheating the public out of a fair election. The First Amendment is something we took seriously in our investigation, but the First Amendment does not protect speech that facilitates a crime. Speech that is used to facilitate a crime, a fraud crime in particular, is not protected under the First Amendment. The Supreme Court precedent on that is clear. this is an issue that we litigated before the district court and the district court ruled, as I just stated, that it is not in fact protected.

17:45And the case law is perfectly clear on this, right? All frauds are perpetrated by speech, right? Yes. All conspiracies are perpetrated by speech. So just because your criminal conduct is brigaded with speech doesn't somehow mean you've got a First Amendment defense against trying to overthrow the government. I mean, the people who attacked the police officers on January 6th were chanting, hang Mike Pence. I suppose that was political speech or they were saying, stop the steal. Does that mean they've got a First Amendment defense to violent assault against the officers? It does not.

18:20Ben Meiselas:Then you have Congress member Eric Swalwell, who's also running for governor of California. Here's what he said. Mr. Smith, I want you to have the utmost confidence in what you did. You did everything right. Harry Dunn, Danny Hodges, Sergeant Cannell, Mike Fanone, they did everything right. These guys, my Republican colleagues, are a joke. They're wrong. History will harshly judge them. So I want you to lean in today. You have nothing to be ashamed of. You did everything right, sir. And I am so, these guys are so lucky they're not under oath. Because they would have to tell you what they really think of Trump.

18:59They call him crooked. They call him cruel. They call him a scumbag. I've heard you all say it. You're lucky you're not under Trump. But when the lights go on and the cameras are on, you're tiny. You're small. You shrink. Everyone remembers Matt Gaetz coming over here after a committee hearing. He would laugh at how stupid he thought Trump was. This is all a show. And Mr. Smith, you're just the latest act that they've brought in. But they can't erase what happened on January 6th because we saw it with our own eyes.

19:32Ben Meiselas:Democratic Congress member Cohen to Jack Smith. Let's play it. Did Merrick Garland ever pressure you to bring an indictment or to do anything in your investigation? No. Did anybody else in the administration, President Biden, Vice President Harris, etc.? I was given the independence to conduct my investigation and I came to the decision to bring charges in this case without undue influence from anybody in the department. Then you had MAGA Republican Darrell Issa and his questioning to Jack Smith starts to say, you know, you were spying on Donald. You spied on Republicans. You spied on us all. And Jack Smith's like, I didn't spy on any of you.

20:12Ben Meiselas:What are you talking about? Play this clip. Why is it that no one should be informed, including the judges? As you went in to spy on these people, did you mention that you were spying on seeking records so you could find out about when conversations occurred between the U.S. Speaker of the House and the president? Did you inform the judge or did you hold that back? My office didn't spy on anyone. Wait a second. The question I asked you, Mr. Smith, was pretty straightforward. Did you withhold that information from an Article III judge in the process of taking the records of the Speaker of the House?

20:53We complied with the party. Did you hold back that information? Mr. Chairman, would you please instruct the gentleman to allow the witness to answer the question? It's not your time. I'd like my time back. Mr. Chairman, you have repeatedly done that in the past. The witness has the right to answer the question. And there'll be due time to answer the question. Would you please put my time back and let me finish this?

21:12Ben Meiselas:Then Democratic Congress member Dan Goldman, who was a former federal prosecutor, you know, he knows this stuff very well from being a prosecutor. He uses his time with Jack Smith to discuss that Jack Smith didn't spy on anyone, that Jack Smith used what are called toll records, which from the dates of January 4th to January 7th, which just show the phone numbers of who was calling and receiving calls from Donald Trump. That's it. and the length of the time. The content of the calls, the text messages, those are not known at all. It just shows while a conspiracy was unfolding to overthrow our system of government, who was calling Trump?

21:54Ben Meiselas:That's the only reason why people's phone numbers showed up on these subpoenas. And it's not the actual content. There was no spying and it was just a limited period of time. Play this clip. Mr. Smith, I just want to take a minute and allow you to explain why you requested the toll records of those officials for January 6th? For the January 6th investigation, correct? Well, with regard to the toll records that were subpoenaed regarding the period of the 4th, I think it was to the 7th, we had evidence that the president had directed Rudy Giuliani, one of his co-conspirators, to contact members of Congress to try to further delay the proceedings and exploit the violence that happened in the Capitol.

22:44We had evidence that those calls had happened. We wanted to get more evidence of that, to corroborate it for trial. That is, again, as I mentioned earlier today, a standard part of an investigation to understand who a conspiracy is trying to reach out to, how they're trying to influence people. And you want a documentary confirmation. Yes, correct.