'Absolutely Not': With Just 2 Words, Jack Smith Destroys Republicans At Hearing — US Midterms, Trump

[0:00] Thank you chairman and thank you Mr. Smith for being here today. Let's remember why we're here [0:06] today. Donald Trump incited an insurrection in 2020 because he refused to accept that he lost [0:13] that election and when he and then he took classified documents with him and put them [0:19] in Mar-a-Lago. Republicans support impunity for criminals not accountability. There's no clear [0:26] example than that of the blanket pardon of nearly 1,600 insurrectionists on day one of this [0:33] disgraceful presidency. Trump pardoned people convicted of seditious conspiracy who brutalized [0:40] police officers. There are four of them who can testify to that here and who wanted to kill [0:46] Vice President Pence. People who've committed more crimes since the insurrection, sexual assault, [0:54] child molestation, aggravated kidnapping. That's who Trump pardoned and that's whose side Republicans [1:02] are on. They may not want to but they are because they refuse to tell the truth. Mr. Smith, let me [1:08] ask you something. Does pardoning violent rioters who brutalized law enforcement officers, spray [1:16] peppering them, tasering them, beating them up, kicking them, smashing them in door frames make [1:22] our country safer? Absolutely not. As a prosecutor, can you describe why these pardons make our [1:34] communities less safe and undermine our criminal legal system more broadly? The people who assaulted [1:42] police officers and were convicted after trial, in my view and I think in the view of the judges who [1:49] sentenced them to prison, are dangerous to their community. As you've mentioned, some of these people [1:55] have already committed crimes against their communities again and I think all of us, if we're reasonable, [2:02] know that there's going to be more crimes committed by these people in the future. I do not understand [2:09] why you would mass pardon people who assaulted police officers. I don't get it. I never will. [2:16] That's exactly right. And none of this is a coincidence. The entire purpose of the Republican Party, [2:25] unfortunately, has become to help criminals and corporate interests evade accountability. Republicans [2:32] want impunity, not accountability. They want impunity for the January 6th people, for the classified documents [2:41] case, for the Epstein files, for billionaires and big corporations, and for terror that DHS is sowing on [2:49] our streets. The Gestapo tactics by ICE and CBP are the obvious result of President Trump and the Republican Party [2:58] that protect anyone who helps them turn our country into an authoritarian gangster state. Whether it's storming the [3:07] Capitol to overthrow an election or murdering people in broad daylight, Republicans will back you if you back their [3:15] political mafia and racketeering operation. That's why Democrats must fight for accountability through [3:24] oversight, through legislation, evidence collection, and through prosecution for the openly criminal acts [3:32] that we're seeing in our communities every day. Democracy doesn't exist without accountability, but you've got to have a spine. [3:41] But you've got to have a spine. I thank you, Mr. Smith, for doing your part. Our fight continues for accountability, [3:50] not for impunity. Thank you, and I yield back. [3:53] May I have a time? [3:55] Mr. Chairman, I would yield to the gentleman from New York. [3:59] 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. [4:10] Mr. Smith, for the January 6th investigation, correct? [4:15] Well, with regard to the toll records that were subpoenaed regarding the period of the 4th, I think it was to the 7th, [4:25] 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. [4:40] We had evidence that those calls had happened. We wanted to get more evidence of that, to corroborate it for trial. [4:47] 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. [4:59] And you want a documentary confirmation? [5:01] Yes, correct. [5:02] Yield back. [5:04] The gentleman has expired. The gentleman from Texas, Mr. Nels, is recognized. [5:09] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Smith, I'll just cut right to the chase here. [5:13] Your investigation and attempted prosecution of President Trump, it wasn't about justice. It was about politics. Politics. [5:22] From day one, under the Biden-Harris DOJ, you weaponized the law to go after their top political opponent. [5:28] You pushed flawed legal theories, and even the far-left Washington Post called you out. They called you out, sir, for violating the First Amendment. [5:39] You tried to criminalize political speech, slap unlawful gag orders on a presidential candidate, and spy on Republican members of Congress in violation of the speech or debate clause, including the sitting Speaker of the House. [5:54] Mr. Smith, you mishandled documents, pressured defense lawyers, and dumped a massive trove of so-called evidence right before the election. [6:05] And you did it. You did it to sway voters. That's why you did it. [6:09] And don't get me started on that right at Mar-Lago or your unconstitutional appointment, which a federal judge in Florida rightly tossed out. A very bad day for you. [6:20] This wasn't, Mr. Smith, about upholding the law. It was about tearing down President Trump and anyone, anyone close to him. [6:29] You even tried to ram through a politically motivated final report after your cases collapsed, including the Presidential Transition Act and basic fairness. [6:39] But here's the good part, America. Here's the good part. The American people saw right through it. [6:47] They rejected, sir, your witch hunt loud and clear in November, handing President Trump a commanding victory. [6:57] The voters spoke loud and clear. They wanted an end to the weaponization of our justice system. [7:02] In your opening statement, you spoke about proof of beyond a reasonable doubt. [7:08] Mr. Smith, I will give you proof beyond a reasonable doubt. [7:12] Donald Trump winning the popular vote by over two million votes. The Electoral College by 85 votes, along with every single swing state. [7:27] Now, sir, that is proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the crap you were shoveling did not pass the smell test with the American people. [7:36] To put it bluntly, Mr. Smith, the stink remains on you. [7:42] And lastly, I would like to quickly address the police officers of January 6th. [7:48] Mr. Dunn, Mr. Fanone, Mr. Gronow, Mr. Hodges. [7:52] I'm a member of the new select committee to actually examine, actually examine what happened that day. [7:59] And I can tell you, gentlemen, that the fault does not lie with Donald Trump. [8:05] It lies with Yogananda Pittman and the U.S. Capitol leadership team. [8:10] We know, we know they had the intelligence. [8:15] And there was going to be a high propensity for violence that day. [8:19] Claim my time. Yeah. [8:20] It will be in order. The time belongs to the gentleman from Texas. [8:24] We've had some disruptions already. We don't need that. [8:27] The gentleman may continue. [8:29] We know the Capitol leadership team, specifically Yogananda Pittman, had the intelligence. [8:35] And there was going to be a high propensity for violence that day. [8:39] And the Capitol itself was the target. [8:41] We knew the extremist groups were going to be there. [8:43] And why do I say that? [8:45] It was your own report from your intelligence section, the IICD, which was run by Pittman in the January 3rd special events section. [8:53] It was in it. It was in it. [8:55] And Mr. Dunn, I believe that you thought that day would be like just any other. [9:02] In your testimony to the January 6th committee, you said you found out how Doug was going to get on a cell phone. [9:08] Somebody sent you some information on social media. [9:11] The point is, you were all unprepared to deal with that day. [9:16] And that's because your leadership failed to share the intelligence with you. [9:21] It was their fault, folks. [9:23] It was their fault. [9:24] It was not President Trump. [9:26] And we are going to expose it for the first time because the Benny Thompson, the sham committee didn't do it. [9:33] Will the gentleman yield for a question? [9:34] The sham committee didn't do it. [9:35] The report is 845 pages. [9:38] Donald Trump's name is mentioned 4,207 times. [9:42] We know what the committee wanted to do is to not allow Donald Trump to come back and win again. [9:49] And they failed and they failed miserably. [9:53] And I hope you now can see that. [9:55] We'll do that.