The House Judiciary Committee has issued a subpoena ordering former special counsel Jack Smith to sit for a private deposition on December 17 as part of its expanding review of the federal prosecutions brought against former President Donald Trump. The committee has also directed Smith to provide documents related to the cases by December 12.
Committee Chairman Jim Jordan said Smith holds information the panel considers essential to its oversight of the Justice Department, particularly regarding decisions made during the election-interference and classified-documents investigations.
Smith’s legal team noted that he had previously offered to testify publicly, but said he would comply with the committee’s demands despite disappointment that the interview will take place behind closed doors instead of in a public hearing.
The subpoena comes at a tense moment in the broader inquiry, which intensified after it was revealed that Smith’s team collected phone records of several Republican lawmakers under a classified operation known as Arctic Frost. Those revelations have sparked accusations that investigators may have overstepped constitutional boundaries.
Smith’s testimony is expected to be a pivotal moment in the committee’s probe, as lawmakers prepare to press him on investigative tactics, internal decision-making, and his role in some of the most politically charged prosecutions in recent years.