WATCH: Rep. Jayapal questions Jack Smith on Trump investigations

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., 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.

"My Republican colleagues keep trying to rewrite history," Jayapal said. "They claim that somehow Trump's words and actions did not legally rise to the level of criminal activity, that he did not directly cause violence at the Capitol, and so I want to set that record straight with you right now."

Jayapal asked Smith a number of questions about what his investigations had found, including whether the president had admitted he had lost the 2020 election.
Jayapal also asked Smith to explain the toll on democracy if presidents are not held accountable for "trying to steal an election."

"My belief is that if we do not hold the most powerful people in our society to the same standards of the rule of law, it can be catastrophic because if they don't have to follow the law, it's very easy to understand why people would think they don't have to follow the law as well. And so I think the law should be applied equally to everyone.

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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