Toobin Warns Congressional Republicans to ‘Be Careful What You Ask For’ If They Call Jack Smith to Testify

Former federal prosecutor Jeffrey Toobin warned that congressional Republicans interested in probing Special Counsel Jack Smith’s prosecutions of Donald Trump may not want to hold hearings on the matter.

On Friday, House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Oversight Subcommittee on House Administration Chair Barry Loudermilk (R-GA) wrote a letter to Smith demanding he preserve all records related to his cases against Trump. Smith secured indictments against the former president in two cases. One involves Trump’s retention of government documents after leaving office, some of which Smith alleges were classified. The other centers on Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. The ex-president pleaded not guilty to all charges.

With a second Trump term looming, however, those prosecutions are effectively dead. On Friday, Smith asked the judge presiding over the election case to remove all deadlines as he reevaluates the “unprecedented circumstance” he is in. The documents case had already been tossed by a federal judge in Florida.

Toobin joined Friday’s edition of AC360 on CNN to weigh in.

“The federal cases are just really over,” Toobin said. “I mean, there is never gonna be a trial on January 6th. There is never gonna be a trial on the Mar-a-Lago classified information case.”

Toobin then turned to the letter from Jordan and Loudermilk.

“The interesting question is, you know, what does Congress want with him?” he continued. ” There’s an implicit threat there.”

“Can he be jailed?” Anderson Cooper asked.

“As long as the rule of law exists in something like its current form, there is no way you can imprison Jack Smith,” Toobin answered. “However, what you could do is call him in to testify. And there I would say to the Republicans, be careful what you ask for, because if Jack Smith has a forum to talk about these cases, I doubt it would go so well for President Trump.”

Cooper asked if Smith would release a final report to the public containing information he would have presented at trial.

“Yes, I think that’s a certainty,” he replied. “In fact, I’m sure what that office is doing now, instead of preparing for trials, they’re preparing for the report. Remember, Robert Mueller, who was a special counsel under the same authority, issued a big report. Robert Hu[r], who investigated President Biden’s classified information. He also did a report. That report, I am sure Smith’s team is rushing to get to Merrick Garland so that he can release it before the next administration.”

Toobin added that there might be some redactions in the report but that “it’s a certainty” that one will be released to the public.

Watch above via CNN.