WATCH: Rep. Raskin questions Jack Smith on Trump investigations

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, 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.

Raskin asked Smith if "there a valid First Amendment defense" to defrauding the public, disrupting a federal proceeding, or violating the public's voting rights. The Maryland congressman noted that his Republican colleagues have argued recently that Trump might have used a First Amendment defense in fighting the charges against him."

The First Amendment is something we took seriously in our investigation, but the First Amendment does not protect speech that facilitates a crime. Speech that is used to facilitate a crime, a fraud crime in particular, is not protected under the First Amendment," Smith said.

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.

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