Overview
- Smith appeared as the sole witness on Tuesday to defend the two criminal cases he brought against President Trump and to say he stands by his prosecutorial decisions.
- Republican senators renewed claims that Smith’s team obtained phone toll records from telecoms and reviewed the contents of text messages tied to 44 members of Congress, raising questions about constitutional protections for lawmakers.
- Rep. Jim Jordan referred Smith to the Justice Department in July for allegedly misleading Congress about records collection, and Smith’s lawyers say his answers were truthful and limited to questions about toll data.
- The Justice Department under President Trump has opened reviews and shown increased scrutiny of agents and prosecutors who worked on Smith’s probes, and some career staff tied to those investigations have been removed or reassigned.
- A court order from Judge Aileen Cannon continues to bar disclosure of portions of Smith’s classified-documents report, which restricts what he can say publicly and has prompted press groups to seek unsealing.