00:00believe in the tooth fairy? I do not. How about how about the Easter Bunny? I no longer believe
00:05in the Easter Bunny. Do you think Jimmy Hoffa died of natural causes? I do not. But it's not
00:10you are calling a witness a dirtbag. I presented him with text messages about him wanting to meet
00:16with people. This is very simple. Yes or no. And can you not answer that? I can. Do you have
00:23any
00:24regrets? Regrets regarding my work in special counsel? Yes. Yes. Republicans on the Senate
00:29Judiciary Committee squared off with former special counsel Jack Smith on Tuesday in a tense
00:35hearing where top GOP lawmakers accused Smith of illegally targeting President Trump. Smith was
00:41tapped as special counsel by then Attorney General Merrick Garland in November 2022, who tasked him
00:47with handling two major cases against Trump. One for hoarding national security papers at Mar-a-Lago
00:54and another related to his attempts to overturn the 2020 election result. The special counsel's
00:59team brought a total of 41 felony counts against Trump across the two cases. The Mar-a-Lago case
01:05was eventually thrown out by a Florida federal judge who ruled Smith had been illegally appointed,
01:11while the 2020 election case ended after Trump was returned to office in 2024. Here are the top five
01:18most explosive moments from Smith's highly anticipated testimony. Number five, a corrupt operation.
01:24During his opening statement, committee chairman Chuck Grassley came out swinging, accusing Smith of
01:30running a, quote, corrupt operation that, quote, undermined the rule of law and threatened our very
01:37political institutions. The ranking member has repeatedly pushed to have this hearing much earlier. But if we had
01:47followed. That misguided and dangerous demand, we wouldn't have had most of the necessary records needed to show how
01:58Jack Smith's correct operation undermined the rule of law and threatened our very political institutions.
02:08Of course, that was the strategy of the Democrats.
02:13Number four, Smith doubles down. During his opening statement, Smith was defiant that he was on the right side of
02:19the law and that the investigation on President Trump, quote, developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the commander-in
02:26-chief, quote, engaged in serious crime.
02:28Trump's against our nation.
02:30I stand by my decisions as special counsel, including my decision to bring charges against President Trump.
02:37I made those decisions without regard to President Trump's political association, activities, beliefs or candidacy in the 2024 presidential election.
02:50If asked whether to prosecute a former president today based on the same facts, I would do so regardless of
02:58whether that is
02:58or whether that president was a Republican or a Democrat.
03:02Number three, family matters. During a particularly tense exchange, Louisiana Senator John Kennedy pressed Smith about the political views of
03:11his wife, documentary filmmaker Katie Cheveny.
03:14When President Trump defeated Secretary Clinton, you were bitterly disappointed, weren't you?
03:25I don't recall that.
03:27You don't recall at all?
03:30Mrs. Smith was, wasn't she?
03:33I'm not going to talk about my family.
03:35Your spouse, it's certainly her right, I'm not being critical, is an ardent supporter of President and First Lady Obama,
03:44is that right?
03:45I'm not going to talk about my family here today. I'm here to talk about my work as special counsel.
03:50In fact, she made a glowing, saccharine, sweet documentary about First Lady Obama, didn't she? That she sold to Netflix?
04:01I'm not going to speak about my family here today.
04:05Number two, shame on you.
04:07Senator Darlene Graham, who replaced her bulwark brother Lindsay after his sudden death in July, slammed Smith for targeting her
04:14late brother in his investigation.
04:16But Smith was quick to respond about Lindsay, calling him a, quote, patriotic public servant.
04:22Do you really believe that Lindsay was going to destroy evidence that was not even in his possession?
04:28No, I believe your brother was a patriotic public servant.
04:33He was not a target of our investigation.
04:35And in fact, he likely would have been a witness in our case.
04:39Do you know what I think?
04:41I think you were just trying to bully my brother and other allies of President Trump.
04:48You caused my brother and a lot of other senators a lot of stress.
04:53And that makes me sick to go after a political opponent and his allies, including Lindsay.
05:02What a disgrace to our justice system and the Constitution that you would stoop this low.
05:10Shame on you.
05:12Number one, sports teams switch up.
05:15In a confusing moment, Republican Senator Eric Schmidt asked Smith if he had attended an Atlanta Hawks basketball game in
05:222024,
05:23one day after Fulton County District Attorney Fannie Willis had come clean about her sordid affair with Special Prosecutor Nathan
05:30Wade.
05:31Schmidt appeared to be alluding that Smith could have been colluding with Willis to coordinate the pair's separate investigations into
05:37Trump.
05:37Smith seemed confused by the question and denied attending the basketball game, assuring the senator he had never met Willis
05:44or Wade.
05:45But Schmidt was adamant, alleging that Smith had perjured himself and was a, quote, villain and a, quote, dirtbag.
05:52But the perjury accusation was quickly dismissed after Smith and Senator Amy Klobuchar realized that Smith had mixed up the
05:59teams in his accusation.
06:01Did you go to an NBA game between the Golden State Warriors and the Atlanta Hawks on February 3rd, 2024?
06:08What city would that be in?
06:10Atlanta.
06:11No.
06:12Okay.
06:12The day before Fannie Willis came clean with her affair with the prosecutor, you know, the Atlanta prosecutor that was
06:18also trying to get Trump.
06:19The next day, were you in Atlanta?
06:21I do not believe so.
06:22Okay.
06:23Did you ever go to Atlanta during your time as special counsel?
06:26I really don't think so.
06:27It's possible I flew through the Atlanta airport on the way to Florida, but I do not have a recollection
06:33of going to Atlanta.
06:36I definitely did not go to a Hawks game.
06:39I'm sure of that.
06:40What would you say if I had a series of text messages from your team that said you were in
06:44Atlanta at a Warrior Hawks game on February 3rd, 2024, the day after Willis and Wade announced their affair?
06:50I don't think you know that we have this stuff, so I'll give you a second to process it so
06:55you don't, you know, perjure yourself.
06:57You just took it down really quick.
06:59If I could look at that again.
07:00If this is the correct basketball game, I recall going to a University of Maryland basketball game where Caitlin Clark
07:10was playing right around that time.
07:14And the marshal service was there with me.
07:16You could check if that was the exact date.
07:18It was Maryland playing Iowa, I think, February of 2024.
07:23But again, that's you could check that out if that's what we're talking about.
07:28Could it then be that University of Iowa is the Hawkeyes?
07:32Could that be it?
07:33And maybe before we show this kind of thing.
07:38I know.
07:39But if he was at an Iowa game, is that correct?
07:41It was because Caitlin Clark was coming to Maryland to play.
07:45It was because Caitlin Clark was coming to Maryland to play.
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