Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Hank Johnson (GA-04)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Congressman Hank Johnson (GA-04), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, delivered opening remarks and questioning at the full committee hearing examining former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigations, which developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 election, and that Trump willfully retained highly classified documents after leaving office.
Below are Ranking Member Johnson’s remarks at today’s hearing. To watch the exchange, click HERE.
CHJ: On January 6, 2026, the fifth anniversary of the insurrection, the White House launched a taxpayer-funded website that attempts to rewrite history about what happened on that day of infamy.
On January 6, 2021, there was an insurrection at the United States Capitol that resulted in a police officer dying the next day, another 4 officers dying by suicide in the months thereafter, with at least 140 police officers being injured by the insurrectionists, with 15 of them requiring hospitalization.
Mr. Smith, I want to ask you about this website, because the Trump administration is using taxpayer dollars to lie to the American people about the events leading up to, and the events taking place on, January 6, 2021.
For example, this Trump propaganda site claims that the 2020 election was “stolen.”
CHJ: Mr. Smith, did your investigation uncover evidence sufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Donald Trump knew that his claim that the election was stolen, was false?
Mr. Smith: Yes, it did.
CHJ:: And did your investigation uncover evidence sufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Donald Trump publicly claimed that the 2020 was stolen from him, while he privately acknowledged that he had lost the election? (Admitting to former White House aide Alyssa Farah: “Can you believe I lost to this effing guy?” as he watched the President-elect Joe Biden on television)
Mr. Smith: Yes, we cited instances of that during our in our case.
CHJ: But yet, here we see that on the 5th year anniversary of the insurrection, the Trump White House propaganda machine is still promoting the “Stolen Election” theory on this government webpage, with a text box titled quote “Fraudulent Election: Stolen Election Certified.” [poster]
CHJ: The site also has a subsection reading, in part: quote “FBI Entrapment Operation Exposed:…” [poster]
CHJ: Mr. Smith, did your investigation develop any evidence to support the allegation that the FBI “entrapped” insurrectionists into committing crimes on January 6th?
Mr. Smith: Our investigation revealed that Donald Trump is the person who caused January 6th, that it was foreseeable to him and that he sought to exploit the violence.
This website also accuses you of being a quote “Biden prosecutor” who brought quote “weaponized” charges against Mr. Trump.
CHJ: Mr. Smith, were you a “Biden prosecutor” who weaponized the Department of Justice against Donald Trump?
Mr. Smith: Absolutely not.
CHJ::Did Attorney General Merrick Garland direct you to prosecute Trump because Donald Trump was running against Joe Biden in the presidential election?
Mr. Smith: No.
CHJ: There are also allegations that President Trump was the victim of quote “lawfare” and accusations that the DOJ lawyers who prosecuted Trump used quote “fabricated indictments” and “rigged show trials.” Did you, or the men and women on your team, work to “fabricate indictments” or put on “rigged show trials”?
Mr. Smith: No, we secured indictments from grand juries, and we were prepared to prove our case in court beyond a reasonable doubt.
CHJ: Did you use your appointment as Special Counsel to conduct a politically motivated witch hunt scam investigation and prosecution of Donald Trump?
Mr. Smith: I did not. We followed the facts and we followed the law. Where that led us was to an indictment of an unprecedented criminal scheme to block the peaceful transfer of power.
CHJ: And those indictments have been dismissed. Can they be re-brought or resurrected after this? After Trump leaves office?
Mr. Smith: They were dismissed without prejudice.
CHJ: So they can be refiled? And he can be prosecuted after he leaves office. Is that correct?
Mr. Smith: I’m not going to speak to that. I can only speak to what we did, which was dismiss the case without prejudice.
CHJ: All right. The website put out by the Trump White House on the anniversary of the January 6th attack is nothing more than a pack of lies. It proves that Donald Trump is hell-bent on misusing taxpayer dollars in a feeble attempt to rewrite his criminal history, and the history of what really happened on January 6, 2021. But we know the truth—thanks to the work done by your office Mr. Smith, and by the Select Committee on January 6, and by the men and women at the DOJ and FBI who worked tirelessly to bring the truth about January 6 to light.
Thank you, Mr. Smith, and I yield back.
I would like to, Mr. Chairman, I offer, for the record. unanimous consent. unanimous consent. a statement from the cybersecurity and infrastructure security agency released on November 12th, 2020 that states the November 3rd election was the most secure in American history. objection and also testimony from i would like to request unanimous consent to enter into the record. the September 24th, 2020 testimony of Trump’s former FBI director, Chris Wray, who told senate homeland security, excuse me, the homeland security committee of the senate that the FBI had, quote, not seen or historically had any kind of coordinated national voter fraud effort in a major election. And last but not least, Mr. Chairman, I’d like to ask for unanimous consent to enter into the record this article titled disputing Trump, Barr says no widespread election.
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