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Former special counsel Jack Smith launched an unusually fiery speech to several hundred people at a private event, accusing the department of being “corrupt” and targeting enemies of President Donald Trump.
Smith’s remarks, given during a private dinner in DC in April and reported by the New York Times this week, focused on the DOJ’s decisions to investigate and prosecute some of Trump’s top political opponents, such as former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. The former special counsel accused the department of overreaching its authority, the same accusations Republicans have leveled at Smith for bringing two criminal charges against Trump during the Biden administration.
“We have a Department of Justice today that directs people to be prosecuted for crimes just because the president doesn’t like them,” said Smith.
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Former special counsel Jack Smith testifies during a House Judiciary Committee hearing at the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on Jan. 22, 2026. (Al Drago/Getty Images)
A DOJ spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the department expected “nothing less from Jack Smith whose sole purpose was to politically prosecute the former president in an attempt to prevent him from taking office again.”
“The DOJ has dismantled the weapons used by the Biden Administration and will continue to ensure that no one is above the law,” the spokesperson said.
Smith brought charges against Trump alleging that he illegally tried to subvert the 2020 election and that he withheld national security information. Smith faced major challenges in the election case, and the classified documents case was dismissed by Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, who said he was illegally appointed as special counsel. Smith’s office was appealing Cannon’s decision when Trump won the 2024 election. A few weeks later, Smith moved to dismiss both federal charges, citing Justice Department policy against prosecuting a sitting president.
Trump repeatedly berated Smith, calling him a corrupt “criminal” who was in prison. In January, Trump said on Truth Social that Smith is a “lost animal” who should lose his law license. Smith is a longtime Hague war crimes attorney and led the DOJ’s Public Integrity Division during the Obama administration.
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Former President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media outside the New York State Supreme Court in New York on October 25, 2023, during a hearing with New York Attorney General Letitia James. (Stephanie Keith/Bloomberg)
Trump said he hopes the DOJ investigates Smith, “including the other crooked and corrupt witnesses he tried to use in his impeachment. This whole thing was a Democratic SCAM – They have to pay a big price for what they put our country through!”
The president’s words directly contradicted Smith’s rare, heated comments at a private event, as both accused the other of weapons and as Smith faced threats of federal prosecution for targeting Trump, despite DOJ and congressional investigators yet to uncover wrongdoing by Smith.
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Smith said the DOJ has been “corrupted” over the past year but believes the department will “deal with this better.”
Smith also accused the DOJ of ignoring cases that might reveal “inconvenient” facts that would contradict “the narrative the president would like to tell.”
Smith praised career prosecutors, saying a “key part” of the DOJ’s current strategy is punishing those like several Minnesota attorneys who resigned in protest over internal disputes over how to handle the investigation into the killing of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, Renee Good, a 37-year-old anti-ICE activist.
“To destroy the law in this country, you must attack these people, that is what we have seen since January 2025,” said Smith.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche criticized reporters for asking questions about a viral story from The Atlantic that FBI Director Kash Patel displayed ‘erratic behavior’ associated with frequent intoxication, during a press conference on April 21, 2026. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
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Smith’s comments weren’t all bad, however, according to the New York Times. He praised the DOJ for being more outspoken than it had been under Biden, a comment that comes as Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who replaced Pam Bondi last month, has adopted an aggressive and proactive media strategy. Blanche held a series of press conferences where she answered many off-topic questions while also conducting a variety of interviews with friendly and conservative media.
Representative Smith had no comment. Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.
