President Donald Trump didn’t mince words this week in his renewed attack on former Special Counsel Jack Smith and the DOJ’s investigations into both the classified‐documents matter and the events of January 6, 2021. Trump demanded that Smith and his team go to prison.

To set the stage: Jack Smith was appointed in late 2022 under Attorney General Merrick Garland to lead two high-profile probes: one into Trump’s handling of classified documents at the Mar-a-Lago estate, the other into the run-up to January 6.

Trump’s case count under Smith quickly ballooned—dozens of criminal counts in both the classified-documents case and the election interference case. But after the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling and following Trump’s victory in the 2024 presidential election, the charges were dropped and Smith resigned.

Now Trump and many House Republicans have flipped the script: the investigator is under attack. Trump posted a blistering message as he wrapped up his Asia trip:

“These thugs should all be investigated and put in prison. A disgrace to humanity. Deranged Jack Smith is a criminal!!!”

He linked to a Republican-led House Judiciary Committee article raising serious questions about how Smith’s operation was run.

Smith hasn’t stayed silent. Through his attorneys, he offered to testify in public before the House and Senate Judiciary Committees:

“Given the many mischaracterizations of Mr. Smith’s investigation … Mr. Smith respectfully requests the opportunity to testify in open hearings…”

His team maintains that the investigations were independent, lawful, and not politically motivated.