00:00Chairman Grassley, Ranking Member Durbin, members of the committee, thank you for the
00:05opportunity to discuss my work as special counsel. I've been fortunate to serve a country that I love
00:11for nearly 30 years in local, national, and international settings. My service has spanned
00:19both Republican and Democratic administrations. I am not a politician and I have no partisan
00:26loyalty. My career has been dedicated to serving our country by upholding the rule of law and the
00:34core principles upon which our country was founded. I believe there is no role for politics in the
00:41proper administration of justice. A prosecutor's decisions must be based on the facts and the law.
00:47The status, power, prominence, or political affiliation of the subject of an investigation
00:55must play no role in the decision to investigate, prosecute, or decline to prosecute. I approached
01:04my role as special counsel following these principles. The special counsel's office followed
01:10Justice Department policy, observed legal requirements, and took actions based on the facts
01:17and the law. I stand by my decisions as special counsel, including my decision to bring charges
01:24against President Trump. I made those decisions without regard to President Trump's political
01:30association, activities, beliefs, or candidacy in the 2024 presidential election.
01:39Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in serious crimes
01:46crimes against our nation. If asked whether to prosecute a former president today based on the same facts,
01:55I would do so regardless of whether that president was a Republican or a Democrat.
02:01The charges against President Trump were the result of the evidence. Grand juries in two separate districts
02:09reached this conclusion based on his actions, as alleged in the indictments they returned.
02:15Rather than accept his defeat in the 2020 presidential election, President Trump engaged in a criminal
02:22scheme to overturn the results and prevent the lawful transfer of power. After leaving office in
02:30January of 2021, President Trump illegally kept classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago social club and
02:38repeatedly tried to obstruct justice to conceal his continued retention of those documents.
02:45Highly sensitive national security information was held in a bathroom and a ballroom where events and
02:53gatherings took place. As with my appearance before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the
03:00Judiciary, I am prepared to answer your questions truthfully. I stand by my testimony before the House of
03:07Representatives, and I will not be silenced by continued threats of prosecution from the president or others.
03:17As I appear before you today, it is my belief that the rule of law faces challenges unlike any we
03:24have
03:24experienced in our lifetime. Individuals are threatened with criminal prosecution because they are perceived to
03:32to have opposed the president. Predetermined outcomes increasingly seem to take precedence over the
03:39Justice Department's long-standing core values and traditions. History teaches that the rule of law is
03:46rarely destroyed all at once. It's often weakened by attacks on the institutions and the public servants sworn to
03:54uphold it. Since January of 2025, we have witnessed precisely such an effort, including the vilification
04:02of the agents, prosecutors, and staff who worked on my team, simply because of their unwavering dedication to the rule
04:10of law.
04:12I myself have been threatened with jail by the president of the United States. However, I remain
04:19confident that the rule of law will endure because so many continue to uphold it faithfully each day.
04:28Throughout our legal system, public servants have remained faithful to their oaths despite extraordinary
04:35pressure to do otherwise. Their example demonstrates that while fear may be contagious,
04:43courage is as well. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. I look forward to your questions.
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