Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., on Tuesday accused former special counsel Jack Smith of using his investigation into President Donald Trump as a political tool to stifle his chances of returning to the White House.

Smith appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday to answer questions about his prosecution of the then-former president.

"Mr. Smith, I have to start by saying I think that maybe I underestimated you. I underestimated, in particular, your comedic talent," Hawley said. "I've been watching this whole hearing. I've watched everything you said. I noticed that you began by saying, 'I have no partisan loyalty,' and you repeated over and over and over, there's nothing in your investigation about politics. That's hilarious."

"In fact, your investigation was all about politics from day one. Your investigation, so-called, your prosecution, so-called, was nothing other than an attempt to interfere politically in a presidential election in the United States of America," he went on.

Hawley further accused Smith of ignoring the advice of his staff, court precedent, and other barriers to legitimately acquiring communications from lawmakers.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.