Missouri Senator Josh Hawley did not hold back while confronting former Special Counsel Jack Smith over his investigations into President Donald Trump. Hawley accused Smith of lying to Congress, questioned the legitimacy of his investigations, and argued that the former prosecutor should face professional and potentially criminal consequences.
Some of the people reacting online were considerably more interested in Hawley’s own history, however. Critics quickly brought up the Missouri Republican’s actions surrounding January 6, including his widely circulated raised-fist gesture outside the Capitol and subsequent footage showing him evacuating as rioters entered the building.
Smith appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee on September 29 for a full committee hearing examining his investigation into Trump and Republicans as a whole. The former special counsel led two federal criminal cases against Trump, one involving efforts to overturn the 2020 election and another conserning the handling of classified documents, both of which were ultimately dismissed.
Hawley used his time to accuse Smith of misleading Congress about his investigation, including how investigators obtained phone records connected to Republican lawmakers. In an X post made to Josh Hawley’s account, he writes, “Never before had a Department of Justice charged a presidential candidate with a crime during an election. It was a disgusting abuse of power Jack Smith should be in jail.“
Smith disputed Hawley and defended the investigative steps taken by his office. He maintained during the broader hearing that subpoenas involving lawmakers were connected to evidence investigators were examining surrounding efforts by Trump and his allies to influence senators during the January 6 Capitol attack.
The confrontation was only one part of a contentious hearing that repeatedly divided senators along partisan lines.
This is the very same hearing where Senator Eric Schmitt received incorrect information concerning Smith’s whereabouts during a 2024 incident. He stated that he had records that could incriminate Smith, but he mixed up the Atlanta Hawks with the Iowa Hawkeyes, putting the conversation to a halt.
Comments and Reactions to Josh Hawley’s Confrontation With Jack Smith
Several commenters responded to Hawley’s accusations by defending Smith and arguing that he had followed criminal procedure while investigating Trump. One user even responded to the post with, “You are an attorney. You are taught to follow the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. That is exactly what Jack Smith has done.“
Others immediately redirected attention toward Hawley’s own actions surrounding January 6, with a different commenter writing, “YOU are a liar and a coward. Shame on you! You were there during the insurrection. You fist pumped the insurrectionists and then fled when you realized the danger. ‘found that [Trump] caused that violence, that it was foreseeable to him, and that he sought to exploit it.‘”
Not everyone responding to Hawley disagreed with his conclusion about Smith. “I’m sure most of us agree with your conclusion that Jack Smith should be in jail Sen. Hawley so why hasn’t he (Smith) in jail!?,” another commenter wrote.
Currently, as the situation continues to go viral, more and more people are voicing their frustrations in the comments below the post. For many of Hawley’s critics, his latest remarks about Smith have simply added fuel to their existing dissatisfaction with the Missouri senator.
