President Donald Trump faces devastation and humiliation if former Special Counsel Jack Smith is successful with his bid to testify in public before Congress, says a prominent Democrat, U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD).Despite requesting a public hearing, Smith delivered a closed-doors deposition this week before the House Judiciary Committee. As Special Counsel, Smith oversaw two major indictments of Donald Trump, one involving alleged election interference and the other involving his alleged removal, retention, and refusal to return classified documents.Smith’s attorneys are petitioning Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan to allow their client to testify in an open forum, according to Politico.“[We] reiterate our request for an open and public hearing,” Smith’s lawyers wrote to Jordan. “During the investigation of President Trump, Mr. Smith steadfastly followed Justice Department policies, observed all legal requirements, and took actions based on the facts and the law. He stands by his decisions.”The attorneys also requested the full eight-hour video of Smith’s sworn deposition be released to the public in full.”According to portions of his statement shared with POLITICO, Smith argued the evidence in his office’s possession would have provided proof of the President’s criminal behavior ‘beyond a reasonable doubt.'”In his opening statement, Politico had reported, Smith “maintained that this team found evidence to prove ‘beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and to prevent the lawful transfer of power.’”Democrats opposed holding Smith’s deposition in private, and “have argued the decision to hold the private deposition deprived the American public of important information about the president and amounted to an effort to distort the record of Smith’s testimony.”Congressman Raskin, the Ranking Member on the House Judiciary Committee, remains hopeful Chairman Jordan will allow Smith to testify in public.Speaking to Politico on Thursday, Raskin said, “I think somebody should prepare Donald Trump for it, because he will be devastated and humiliated by what he hears.”
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