The Civic Node

Capitol riot 'does not happen' without Trump, Jack Smith told Congress

3 min read

Summary

NPR/AP report on the December 17, 2025 closed-door deposition transcript of former Special Counsel Jack Smith before the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee. Smith called Trump “the most culpable and most responsible person” in the conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election, said the Capitol riot “does not happen” without Trump, and vigorously defended his investigations as non-political. Released Dec. 31, 2025.

Key Points

  • Smith’s Dec. 17 deposition released Dec. 31 by House Judiciary Committee (led by Jim Jordan); held in private despite Smith’s request to testify publicly
  • Smith: Trump was “by a large measure the most culpable and most responsible person in this conspiracy”; the Capitol attack “does not happen without him”
  • Smith: Trump “caused it and…exploited it and…it was foreseeable to him”; Trump got people to “believe fraud claims that weren’t true”; directed supporters to Capitol; refused to stop the violence
  • Case built substantially on Republican witnesses — including a Pennsylvania elector who called it “an attempt to overthrow the government”
  • Trump issued a tweet “that without question in my mind endangered the life of his own vice president” while violence was ongoing
  • Smith’s team analyzed Cassidy Hutchinson’s steering wheel claim; the Secret Service officer in the car said Trump “was very angry and wanted to go to the Capitol” but the officer’s account differed from Hutchinson’s secondhand version
  • Smith defended analyzing Republican lawmakers’ phone records as lawful; said outrage should be directed at Trump who chose to direct co-conspirators to call those senators
  • Smith cited Mark Meadows interview: Jordan was in contact with White House on the afternoon of the riot; Meadows said “I’ve never seen Jim Jordan scared of anything” until that day

Newsletter Angles

  • The deposition was held in secret despite Smith’s request to testify publicly. The Republican-controlled committee made the decision to close it. This matters: the choice to suppress the most detailed public accounting of Jan. 6 is itself a story
  • Smith’s case was built on Republicans: “Republicans who put their allegiance to the country before the party.” The MAGA reframing of Jan. 6 as a Democratic witch hunt is actively undermined by this testimony
  • Jim Jordan’s name appears in the deposition via Meadows’ testimony — the chairman of the committee releasing the transcript had been in contact with the White House during the riot

Entities Mentioned

Concepts Mentioned

  • Institutional Gaslighting — Republican committee’s framing of Smith’s work as political; Smith pushed back explicitly

Quotes

“The evidence here made clear that President Trump was by a large measure the most culpable and most responsible person in this conspiracy. These crimes were committed for his benefit. The attack that happened at the Capitol, part of this case, does not happen without him.”

“Our case was built on, frankly, Republicans who put their allegiance to the country before the party.”

Notes

Based on transcript of a closed-door deposition. The Republican committee chose to keep it private — meaning this summary is from the release of the transcript text, not from a public hearing. The transcript itself (listed as a separate source) would be the primary document.

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