Jack Smith grilled at heated Senate hearing as Republicans attack his Trump investigations

Former special counsel Jack Smith endured hours of hostile questioning before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday 29 September, defending his handling of two federal investigations into Donald Trump as Republican senators lashed out with invective that the Guardian described as containing inaccurate information.

Smith led two criminal cases against Trump in 2023 — one over efforts to overturn the 2020 election and one over the mishandling of classified documents — both of which were dismissed before trial. Republicans accuse Smith of bringing the cases to undermine Trump and of targeting Republicans, including by subpoenaing the phone records of members of Congress.

Committee chairman Chuck Grassley set the tone in his opening statement, accusing Smith of running a “corrupt operation” that “undermined the rule of law and threatened our very political institutions,” the New York Post reported.

Senator Eric Schmitt of Missouri called Smith a “dirtbag” and raised perjury allegations, displaying a poster with text messages he said showed Smith had committed perjury by attending an Atlanta Hawks basketball game on 3 February 2024 — insinuating he may have met Fani Willis, the former Fulton County district attorney who brought state charges against Trump. Smith denied ever attending a Hawks game, clarifying that he had attended a University of Iowa Hawkeyes game in Maryland to watch Caitlin Clark play. Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota admonished Schmitt, saying it “deserves an apology” that he had used false information to imply Smith was in Atlanta and then called him a “dirtbag,” according to the Guardian.

Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana pressed an accusation — described by the Guardian as one with no public evidence — that Joe Biden or his White House staff had told then-Attorney General Merrick Garland to prosecute Trump. Smith said he did not know about any such conversations. Kennedy then asked: “Do you believe in the Tooth Fairy? … How about the Easter Bunny?” Smith replied: “I no longer believe in the Easter Bunny.” As his questioning ended, Kennedy told Smith: “You make me want to throw up in my mouth.”

Senator Ted Cruz of Texas grew angry over Smith’s subpoenaing of congressional phone records, telling Smith: “Javert from Les Mis would look at you with astonishment,” and insinuating that Smith had used the special-counsel role to target Republicans by requesting records from the RNC and conservative lawmakers.

Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri also accused Smith of perjury over his earlier House testimony in which he said he could not recall seeking a search warrant for the text messages of members of Congress. Smith acknowledged on Tuesday that his team had obtained records, including text messages from the National Archives that “happened to have contacts with members of Congress in it,” the New York Post reported.

Smith maintained that he had run a nonpartisan investigation and defended the subpoenas as necessary evidence that Trump had called members of Congress to try to delay certification of the 2020 election. In his opening statement he said: “If asked whether to prosecute a former president today, based on the same facts, I would do so regardless of whether that president was a Republican or a Democrat.”

Democrats used the hearing to highlight the 6 January 2021 Capitol attack and Trump’s false election-fraud claims. Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey called the hearing “a farce,” and he and Senator Chris Coons of Delaware highlighted that the current administration had fired Justice Department staffers who had worked on Smith’s team.

Sources

• Ariana Baio, “‘You make me want to throw up’: Republicans attack ex-special counsel Jack Smith at Senate hearing,” The Guardian, 29 September 2026: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/29/jack-smith-senate-hearing
• “Senate Republicans rip ‘dirtbag’ Jack Smith over Trump investigations: ‘You make me want to throw up in my mouth’,” New York Post, 29 September 2026: https://nypost.com/2026/09/29/us-news/jack-smith-accused-of-corrupt-probe-of-trump-republican-lawmakers/