Amna Nawaz
Amna Nawaz
@PBSNewsHour·5.3M subscribers·62.2K videos

WATCH: Rep. Lee questions Jack Smith on Trump investigations

Posted

January 22, 2026

Views

77,976

Likes

815

Engagement

1.05%

Search the Record

Indexed

Every word spoken in this episode is indexed. Type any phrase to jump straight to the moment it was said.

Type any word or phrase that may have been spoken. Click a result to seek the player to that exact moment.

Try a name, a topic, or a quoted line

YouTube Description

as posted by the channel

Rep. Laurel Lee, R-Fla., questioned former special counsel Jack Smith on Thursday in a hearing focused on Smith’s investigations into President Donald Trump’s mishandling of classified documents and role in the Jan. 6 attack.

Smith reiterated that his team had sufficient evidence to prove that Trump had engaged in criminal activity.“I felt we had proof beyond a reasonable doubt,” he told Lee. “I felt that that proof included direct testimony from a number of witnesses to prove the knowing falsity of [Trump’s] claims.”

The hearing is an opportunity for the career prosecutor 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.

Newsletters

PBS News podcasts

Stream your PBS favorites with the PBS app

Find more from PBS News at

Subscribe to our YouTube channel

Guests & Subjects Covered

WATCHRep Laurel Lee R-FlaJack SmithPresident Donald TrumpsLee IOval Office DepartmentWatch PBS NewsPBS News Hour

Sentinel Indexing in Progress

Metadata and chapters are available. Claim extraction for this episode is pending.

All video content is delivered via YouTube embedded players in accordance with the YouTube Terms of Service. Sentinel provides research tools that promote discovery and accountability across political media.

WATCH: Rep. Lee questions Jack Smith on Trump investigations · Amna Nawaz · Sentinel