WATCH: No accountability for attempted election theft sends message that crimes are OK, Smith says

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., asked former special counsel Jack Smith on Thursday to explain the toll on democracy and future elections if presidents are not held accountable for "trying to steal an election."

"My belief is that if we do not hold the most powerful people in our society to the same standards of the rule of law, it can be catastrophic, because if they don't have to follow the law, it's very easy to understand why people would think they don't have to follow the law as well. And so I think the law should be applied equally to everyone,” Smith said.

“I think if we don't hold people to account when they commit crimes, it sends a message that those crimes are OK, that our society accepts that. I believe that if we don't call people to account when they commit crimes in this context, it can endanger our election process. It can endanger election workers and ultimately our democracy,” he added.

The House Judiciary hearing focused on Smith’s investigations into President Donald Trump’s mishandling of classified documents and role in the Jan. 6 attack, and gave the career prosecutor a chance to publicly offer his inside perspective on the investigations, which both led to unprecedented indictments. Both were scuttled once it was clear that Trump would return to the Oval Office; Department of Justice policy prevents prosecution of a sitting president.

Republicans and the president have accused Smith of pursuing a politically motivated case against the president. Trump has denied wrongdoing while attacking Smith, calling him a "criminal" who ought to be investigated and "put in prison."

Smith defended his investigations in an hourslong closed-door meeting with lawmakers in December, saying he said he had "proof beyond a reasonable doubt" of what his investigations laid out. He’s denied accusations of bias.

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