Republicans Confident Jack Smith Hearing Will Hurt Him, Not Trump, Somehow

WASHINGTON, D.C. — House Republicans moved forward this week with a high-profile hearing featuring Jack Smith under the apparent belief that revisiting Trump’s post-2020 election conduct would finally make Smith look bad instead of, once again, making Trump look like Trump.

Committee members appeared optimistic as Smith outlined how his office developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that Trump engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the 2020 election—an approach Republicans believed would reflect poorly on Smith once voters heard it again.

“This was always about politics,” one Republican lawmaker insisted, shortly before Smith explained that saying you won an election and attempting to defraud the government to stay in office are, legally speaking, different things.

Throughout the hearing, Smith maintained a steady, professional tone, repeatedly emphasizing that he would have pursued the same investigation regardless of whether the suspect was a Republican or a Democrat.

President Trump, by contrast, contributed to the proceedings via Truth Social, calling Smith “a deranged animal” and suggesting he should not be allowed to practice law. Republicans appeared confident this contrast favored them.

At press time, GOP leaders remained upbeat, noting that while the hearing did briefly revisit Trump’s post-election behavior, voters had already proven they were capable of ignoring that.