Startling aspect of Jack Smith's hearing revealed by Dem

A top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee revealed a startling aspect of the hearing on Thursday with former special counsel Jack Smith during an interview on CNN.

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) joined CNN's Jake Tapper on "The Lead" to discuss Smith's hearing, which included several bombshell moments. Before the hearing began, a right-wing operative and a former Capitol police officer nearly got into a fistfight. Republicans on the committee also staged several confrontations with Smith during the hearing, accusing him of acting on political motives and other misdeeds.

But there was one part of the hearing that was truly startling. Republicans didn't deny any of the findings in Jack Smith's report, Lieu told Tapper.

"None of them actually disputed Jack Smith's findings," Lieu said. "He issued an entire report, volume one of his report. They didn't even talk about that report. They didn't dispute that Donald Trump engaged in a conspiracy to try to get fake electors and fake documents to overturn this election."

Instead, Republicans used their time to try to discredit some of the steps Smith took in his investigation. One aspect they harped on was his decision to subpoena phone records of lawmakers who had allegedly helped Trump with his scheme.

Lieu, a former prosecutor, was having none of it.

"It's idiotic what these Republicans are saying," he said.