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Smith Testifies Before Senate Judiciary Amid GOP Allegations
Confirmed
In Short: Former special counsel Jack Smith testified Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee amid Republican allegations of misconduct.
Former special counsel Jack Smith testified Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee, facing Republican lawmakers who have accused him of misconduct during his investigation of former President Donald Trump.
Smith will defend his actions, stating, “I made these decisions without regard to President Trump’s political association, activities, beliefs, or candidacy in the 2024 presidential election,” according to a copy of his prepared remarks.
The hearing, titled “Oversight of Jack Smith’s Abuse of Authority and the Targeting of Republicans and Related Matters,” centers on an exchange in December 2025 where Smith was asked about subpoenas for toll records of Republican lawmakers.
Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, referred Smith to the Justice Department in July, alleging that Smith made false statements about obtaining records of lawmakers during his investigation.
Smith’s lawyers denied the allegation, saying he testified truthfully and that his team did not have access to the content of lawmakers' text messages.
Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said at the outset that the hearing will highlight the panel's investigation into Smith's “weaponized conduct.”
Democrats on the committee are expected to defend Smith and the underlying investigations, with Dick Durbin of Illinois accusing Republicans of spreading “baseless conspiracy theories” about Smith’s investigations.
Smith’s testimony comes as the Senate Judiciary Committee continues its broader investigation into the “Arctic Frost” probe, including subpoenas for congressional records and other investigative activity surrounding the 2020 election case.
The committee says Smith’s team obtained records of 44 members of Congress, but Smith’s defenders maintain that he followed the evidence in investigating Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
No court has found wrongdoing on the part of Smith or any of the prosecutors as part of the probes themselves, though one former prosecutor on the team has faced charges for attempting to email herself a portion of a report Smith wrote.
What this adds
Jim Jordan of Ohio, referred Smith to the Justice Department for potential prosecution on allegations that he lied at a previous hearing about his collection of the records — something Smith’s attorneys have vigorously disputed.
The hearing's title gives a hint of the tone former special counsel John L. will face from majority Republicans.
If Jack Smith did that to Democrats, you’d never hear the end of it, according to some lawmakers.
Smith last appeared before Congress in January, when he testified before the House Judiciary Committee about his work.
Background
Former special counsel Jack Smith will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee amid allegations of misconduct.
What's confirmed
- Lawyers for Smith denied the allegation and said he testified truthfully.
- The referral centered on an exchange in which Smith was asked about subpoenas that prosecutors had issued for the toll records of some Republican lawmakers as part of the investigation.
- Former special counsel Jack Smith will testify Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
- Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, referred Smith to the Justice Department on allegations he made false statements in December during closed-door testimony about whether he had obtained records of lawmakers while investigating Trump's efforts to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss.
- "Did the toll records that you requested from the senators, did they include the content of the phone calls?" Smith was asked.
- Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, showing that Smith had obtained the contents of 44 lawmakers' text messages in a separate subpoena to the National Archives and Records Administration that sought the communications of various Trump advisers and aides.
- Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, Smith's lawyers called his answers "unimpeachably truthful" and noted that he was responding explicitly to questions about toll records, which did not include the contents of any text messages.
- Republicans have argued for months that Smith acted as a tool of the Biden administration, echoing Trump’s claims of a Justice Department “weaponized” against him.
- Hawley and others argued that Smith’s actions violated the “speech or debate” clause of the Constitution, which provides members of Congress with immunity from testifying about their work.
- Democrats, meanwhile, have argued for months that Republicans were afraid to have Smith actually testify about his work and the allegations against Trump.
- Another member of the panel, Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., said Republicans’ attacks on Smith were part of their broader defense of Trump.
- No court has found wrongdoing on the part of Smith or any of the prosecutors as part of the probes themselves.
What's still developing
- “Jack” Smith will likely face from majority Republicans when he sits as the sole witness Tuesday.
- “Jack Smith must answer for what he did to hundreds of Republican groups and individuals,” Grassley said in a statement.
- The program helped more than 100,000 Minnesota households cover heating costs last winter, and roughly 6 million households nationwide over the past year, according to Klobuchar’s and Smith’s offices.
- Klobuchar and Smith each issued brief statements alongside the letter.
- Other senators who signed the letter include Susan Collins, R-Maine; Jack Reed, D-R.I.; Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska; Angus King, I-Maine; and Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, among more than 20 others from both parties.
- Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, is asking the federal government to release home heating assistance funding earlier than required this year, as colder weather and rising energy costs approach.
- The DOJ has not indicated any status updates since receiving the referral.
- Republicans say the inquiry crossed constitutional boundaries and improperly targeted their party.
- Smith will face questions from Republicans who argue that his actions improperly targeted their party.
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- The Office of Special Counsel, an independent watchdog agency responsible for enforcing a law against partisan political activity by federal employees, also announced last year an investigation into Smith.