Smith: Trump sought ways to stay in power after the 2020 election

Jack Smith has begun his testimony in the United States of America.

"I love my country and I believe deeply in the fundamental principles on which it was founded," he said. "I have prosecuted public corruption and election crimes across the United States, and I have prosecuted war crimes abroad. I am not a politician and I have no party allegiance," he added, the BBC reported.

As expected, Smith is defending his investigations into US President Donald Trump.

He filed cases against Trump, which he prosecuted but dropped after the president's reelection.

Referring to the issue of interference in the 2020 election, the former special counsel said that Trump "engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results and prevent the lawful transfer of power."

Regarding the issue of the special classified documents, Smith added that Trump "repeatedly attempted to obstruct justice to conceal the continued possession of these documents."

He said he stands by his decision to investigate Trump's 'misdeeds' and defended the team he worked with.

One issue that has angered some Republicans is Smith's investigation into the release of phone records related to several lawmakers. He has previously said the records did not include the content of calls or messages, but rather recorded when a call started and stopped, and who received it.

Speaking at the hearing, Smith said that "it was important to get the tax records to understand the scope of that conspiracy, who they were trying to coerce, who they were trying to influence, who they were trying to help them."

“When conducting a criminal investigation, securing tax records that do not contain content, as you describe, is a common practice in almost any complex investigation,” he explained.

In a previous closed-door hearing, Smith said that call records and interviews allowed investigators to piece together details of how the White House tried to stop lawmakers from certifying the 2020 election results.

During the hearing, according to BBC reports, there was also tension.

While Republican Darrell Issa was questioning Smith, he spoke during the allotted time.

Jordan, the chairman of the committee, did not forcefully interrupt Issa.

Democrats immediately shouted that a Republican was taking more than his allotted five minutes. This was the first sign of a scuffle so far.