Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., said special counsel Jack Smith engaged in "truly unprecedented behavior" while investigating President Donald Trump, arguing Smith repeatedly overstepped legal norms and threatened constitutional rights.
Appearing Thursday on Newsmax's "National Report" ahead of a House Judiciary Committee hearing, Kiley said Smith operated without the "humility and restraint" expected of a special counsel in a politically sensitive case.
"There were a lot of very unusual aspects of this investigation," Kiley said. "The sort of humility and restraint that you would expect from a prosecutor in this sort of situation ... simply was absent."
Kiley said Smith was "reined in repeatedly" during the investigation by judges and "even his own attorney general who appointed him," adding that the probe was conducted in a way that "anyone who cares about fairness and about protecting constitutional rights would not want to have happen."
Responding to Smith's written opening statement claiming his decisions were apolitical, Kiley said, "Unfortunately, I think that we saw the erosion of that rule of law in many ways during the course of the investigation itself. Mr. Smith's conduct speaks for itself."
Kiley cited Smith's subpoena of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's phone records as a prime example.
"He engaged in truly unprecedented behavior," Kiley said. "He subpoenaed the records of the speaker of the House for a two-month period of time, got access to those phone records, and then went and got a nondisclosure order preventing the phone carriers from even telling McCarthy or other members of Congress that their records had been seized."
He added that Smith "didn't even tell the judges that it was the speaker and members of Congress that he was going after."
Kiley also criticized Smith for seeking to limit Trump's speech during the 2024 campaign.
"He had a gag order where he sought to limit President Trump's speech in the middle of a campaign," Kiley said, noting it was later invalidated by a federal appeals court "that consisted of mostly Democratic judges."
Kiley also questioned Smith's claim of independence from the Biden administration, noting reports that Attorney General Merrick Garland raised concerns about Smith's approach.
"When he presented Merrick Garland with his prosecution memo, Merrick Garland was visibly unenthusiastic and raised concerns that the prosecution was violating President Trump's free speech rights," Kiley said. "That gives you some insight into the way this office was conducted."
Kiley said the decision to indict only Trump in an alleged conspiracy was itself highly unusual.
"Usually in conspiracy cases, you start with the lower people on the ladder," he said. "But in this case, Jack Smith only indicted one individual, and that was former President Trump."
He also highlighted what he called a double standard involving classified documents.
"You had the special counsel issuing the first-ever indictment of a former president, the political opponent of the sitting president, for doing something that the sitting president who appointed him had also done," Kiley said.
"There's a lot of questions here," he added. "I think it's going to be a very interesting hearing."
GET TODAY NEWSMAX+:
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America with more than 30 million people watching!
Reuters Institute reports NEWSMAX is one of the top news brands in the U.S.
You need to watch NEWSMAX today.
Get it with great shows from Rob Schmitt, Greta Van Susteren, Greg Kelly, Carl Higbie, Rob Finnerty – and many more!
Find the NEWSMAX channel on your cable system – Go Here Now
BEST OFFER:
Sign up for NEWSMAX+ and get NEWSMAX, our streaming channel NEWSMAX2 and our military channel World at War.
Find hundreds of shows, movies and specials.
Even get Jon Voight's special series and President Trump's comedy programs and much more!
Watch NEWSMAX+ on your smartphone or home TV app.
Watch NEWSMAX anytime, anywhere!
Start your FREE trial now: NewsmaxPlus.com
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.