Jack Smith Defends GOP Senator Phone Record Subpoenas

Clear Facts

• Jack Smith stands by his 2023 decision to subpoena Republican lawmakers’ toll records.
• The subpoenas focused on telephonic activity from January 4 to January 7, 2021, during the days surrounding the Capitol riot.
• Sen. Ted Cruz reported on ‘Hannity’ that his phone records were targeted, but his provider did not hand them over.

Jack Smith, the former special counsel, maintains that his 2023 subpoenas of Republican lawmakers’ phone records were “entirely proper” and in line with Justice Department policy.

He clarified through his lawyers that the toll records requested were carefully limited to support the investigation into President Trump’s actions after the 2020 election.

“As described by various Senators, the toll data collection was narrowly tailored and limited to the four days from January 4, 2021 to January 7, 2021, with a focus on telephonic activity during the period immediately surrounding the January 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol,” Smith’s lawyers wrote to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley.

Toll records track when and to whom calls were made, not the content of conversations.

Sen. Chuck Grassley said that he would keep investigating Arctic Frost, the FBI probe that led to Smith’s prosecution of Trump.

“I’m conducting an objective assessment of the facts&law like he says he wants So far we exposed an anti-Trump FBI agent started the investigation/broke FBI rules &only REPUBLICANS were targeted SMELLS LIKE POLITICS,” Grassley wrote on X.

Republican Senators Marsha Blackburn, Josh Hawley, and Lindsey Graham were among those targeted by the subpoenas.

Sen. Ted Cruz told Sean Hannity he learned his own toll records were sought but that AT&T did not provide them to Smith.

The subpoenas have sparked comparisons to the Watergate era, with Republicans claiming inappropriate surveillance.

Smith’s lawyers said seeking lawmakers’ phone records is not unusual and that public officials can be investigated.

Smith dropped charges against Trump after his 2024 election win, citing DOJ policy against prosecuting sitting presidents.

Other investigations have also seen similar subpoenas, including probes involving both Democrat and Republican lawmakers by previous special counsels and administrations.

Michael Horowitz, former DOJ inspector general, warned that subpoenaing lawmakers’ records could discourage congressional oversight.

Smith’s team denied accusations that they hid the subpoenas, noting that mention of the records appeared in his final report.

“Moreover, the precise records at issue were produced in discovery to President Trump’s personal lawyers, some of whom now serve in senior positions within the Department of Justice,” Smith’s lawyers said.

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Full details from Fox News