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Jack Smith, the former U.S. Justice Department Special Counsel who brought two now-dropped criminal cases against President Donald Trump, will publicly testify to the House Judiciary Committee on Jan. 22.

Pictured here, Special Counsel Jack Smith delivered remarks on a recently unsealed indictment against then-former President Trump at the Justice Department on June 9, 2023 in Washington, D.C. At the time, Trump was indicted in the special counsel's classified documents probe.

Smith gave private testimony to the committee in December 2025 where he defended his investigations into Trump, saying that the basis for the prosecutions "rests entirely with President Trump and his actions."

Smith was appointed independent special counsel by Attorney General Merrick Garland in 2022 to oversee two criminal investigations into former President Donald Trump's alleged role in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol and his alleged mishandling of classified documents. Smith dropped both cases after Trump won the 2024 election, citing a Justice Department policy against prosecuting a sitting president.

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The rift between President Donald Trump and the Catholic church's leadership is reaching biblical proportions. 

This week, the country’s highest-ranking Catholic archbishops took the rare step of issuing a joint statement rebuking United States’ foreign policy, saying recent and ongoing events in Venezuela, Ukraine and Greenland have called into question the country’s “moral role in confronting evil around the world.”

Their statement on Monday came a day after Timothy P. Broglio, the Catholic archbishop for U.S. military forces, told the BBC troops would be morally justified in disobeying orders that betrayed their conscience. Addressing President Donald Trump’s threats to forcefully occupy Greenland, Broglio said he feared for military personnel “because they could be put in a situation where they’re being ordered to do something which is morally questionable.”

The Justice Department has issued grand jury subpoenas to multiple government officials in Minnesota, including Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, expanding the agency's probe alleging that Minnesota officials conspired to impede law enforcement amid the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her have also been subpoenaed. NPR has not yet confirmed reports that other state and local leaders have also been issued subpoenas.

Frey's subpoena requires him to appear in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis on Feb. 3. The mayor accused the federal government of weaponizing its power to intimidate local leaders.

"We shouldn't have to live in a country where people fear that federal law enforcement will be used to play politics or crack down on local voices they disagree with," he said in a statement.

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Ty Cobb, who worked as a White House attorney in President Donald Trump’s first administration, said Trump’s cognitive decline is “palpable.”

On Tuesday, Trump held a whirlwind press conference that lasted more than 90 minutes. He repeated wild 2020 election conspiracy theories, raged at former CNN host Don Lemon, baselessly claimed that a witness to a fatal ICE shooting this month was a “paid agitator,” alleged that “pirating ships,” is the “only thing” Somalis are “good at,” said people in Washington, D.C. “can act like a real lover” after he deployed the National Guard there, dunked on former Special Counsel Jack Smith, and declared that “God is very proud” of the president’s first year back in office. When asked how far he would be willing to go to seize Greenland from Denmark, a NATO ally, Trump replied, “You’ll find out.”

Hours later, Cobb appeared on The Beat on MS NOW, where he homed in on Trump’s Greenland remarks.

“Those are not the comments of a rational human being and certainly not presidential at all,” Cobb told host Ari Melber. “Likewise, yesterday you had the clear, deranged, demented, and insane note that he sent to the leaders of Norway, saying that because Norway, which has no control over the Nobel Peace Prize, hadn’t given it to him, that he was free to disregard peace and very interested in Greenland. I don’t think there’s anybody outside of the United States who believes that Trump is sane.”

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Lindsey Halligan, a Trump-appointed federal attorney who led the failed prosecutions of two of the president’s political opponents, has left her position at the US justice department, attorney general Pam Bondi said on Tuesday.

The departure of Halligan, who previously served as Trump’s personal attorney, comes after multiple judges have sharply criticized her and cast doubts on her ability to lawfully remain in her position.

Lindsey Halligan, a Trump-appointed federal attorney who led the failed prosecutions of two of the president’s political opponents, has left her position at the US justice department, attorney general Pam Bondi said on Tuesday.

The departure of Halligan, who previously served as Trump’s personal attorney, comes after multiple judges have sharply criticized her and cast doubts on her ability to lawfully remain in her position.

Halligan, who had no prosecutorial experience, was sworn in as interim US attorney for the eastern district of Virginia in September after the president pushed out her predecessor who had declined to bring charges against Letitia James, the New York attorney general, and James Comey, the former FBI director. Halligan oversaw indictments brought against James and Comey, which were criticized as politically vindictive, and a judge in November dismissed the cases.

The judge who threw out the cases ruled that Halligan had been unlawfully appointed and did not have the legal authority to bring the indictment against James and Comey.

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Virginia voters gave Democrats another special election win on Tuesday, according to Decision Desk HQ, adding to a string of recent victories for the party in the Old Dominion.

Democrat Garrett McGuire will replace state Del. Mark Sickles (D), who has been tapped to be Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s secretary of finance, in the 17th House District.

The Tuesday contests are part of a series of special elections prompted as Spanberger, who was elected governor last year and inaugurated over the weekend, called on several state lawmakers to join her administration.

Democrats have the majority in the House of Delegates, where state lawmakers moved forward quickly this month with constitutional amendments on abortion access, mid-decade redistricting and other major issues.

Democrats were expected to win in the district, which went to former Vice President Kamala Harris by 43 points in 2024.

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The three highest-ranking heads of Roman Catholic archdioceses in the United States issued a strongly worded statement on Monday criticizing the Trump administration's foreign policy — without mentioning President Trump by name.

Cardinals Blase Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, Robert McElroy, archbishop of Washington, and Joseph Tobin, archbishop of Newark, say America's actions raise moral questions.

"Our country's moral role in confronting evil around the world, sustaining the right to life and human dignity, and supporting religious liberty are all under examination," the statement reads. "And the building of just and sustainable peace, so crucial to humanity's well-being now and in the future, is being reduced to partisan categories that encourage polarization and destructive policies."

They continued, "We seek a foreign policy that respects and advances the right to human life, religious liberty, and the enhancement of human dignity throughout the world, especially through economic assistance."

The senior leaders cited the recent events in Venezuela, Ukraine and Greenland, which they said "have raised basic questions about the use of military force and the meaning of peace."

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A US federal judge has issued an order limiting the crowd control tactics that can be used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents (ICE) towards "peaceful and unobstructive" protesters in Minneapolis.

Judge Katherine Menendez ruled on Friday night that federal agents cannot arrest or pepper spray peaceful demonstrators, including those monitoring and observing ICE agents.

The ruling comes ahead of planned weekend protests against the widespread immigration action in the city and follows the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an ICE agent earlier this month.

The US Department of Homeland Security said it is taking measures to protect officers from rioters.

Minnesota officials earlier urged protesters expected to take to the streets this weekend to stay orderly and peaceful.

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