Takeaways from former special counsel Jack Smith’s public hearing

Former special counsel Jack Smith, who brought two now-defunct criminal cases against President Donald Trump, defended the integrity of his investigation during a combative hearing Thursday on Capitol Hill.

Making his first public appearance before lawmakers, Smith pushed back against Trump’s claims that he was a crooked prosecutor during a hearing that devolved into a partisan Rorschach test about Trump’s actions after losing the 2020 election.