'Give away the game': Republicans are 'privately' worried about Jack Smith's testimony

On October 14, Politico's Hailey Fuchs reported that House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) had sent former U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) special counsel Jack Smith a letter requesting his closed-door testimony. That letter, according to MSNBC opinion columnist and "Rachel Maddow Show" producer Steve Benen, signaled that Jordan and other allies of President Donald Trump were "going on the offensive against Smith."

But Benen, in his October 24 column, argues that Smith — not MAGA Republicans — is the one who has the most to gain from testifying before members of Congress, although it needs to be a hearing that's open to the public and not behind closed doors.

"To date, no Republican official has produced any evidence of Smith doing anything wrong," Benen explains. "The (Republican) Party's hysterics continue anyway ... This week, Smith said he's ready to respond to GOP questions — but he wants the public to see his answers."

In 2023 and 2024, Smith prosecuted two federal criminal cases against Trump: the Mar-a-Lago documents case, and the January 6/election interference case. U.S. Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, threw out the Mar-a-Lago case.

After Trump narrowly won the 2024 presidential election, Smith asked U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan (an Obama appointee) to dismiss the election interference case, citing DOJ policy against prosecuting a sitting president. Chutkan granted Smith's request, dismissing the case but "without prejudice," meaning it could be brought back at a later date.

Benen notes that Smith, according to the New York Times, is making it clear that he would be happy to answer questions from the House Judiciary Committee and do so with full media coverage.

"The Times' report, which has been independently verified by MSNBC, added that Republicans on Capitol Hill 'have privately been wary about having him appear in public, concerned he will undercut the president’s claims of innocence,'" Benen writes. "Those concerns, of course, give away the game. As we've discussed, Smith is an experienced, credible and capable prosecutor, who's familiar with Trump’s criminal cases at a granular level. The more Republicans drag him back into the spotlight, the more Smith will be positioned to remind the public not only of the variety of alleged presidential felonies, but also, of evidence the party would probably prefer to forget…. He's not the one who needs to worry; they are."

Benen continues, "'You want to talk?,' the former special counsel effectively said. 'Great. I have quite a bit to say. Let's have a public conversation.' Republicans have not yet said whether they'll allow the transparency Smith clearly wants, although for the record, there's no reason this Q&A would have to be held behind closed doors."

Steve Benen's full MSNBC column is available at this link.