Former special counsel Jack Smith is expected to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Sept. 22 to answer questions about subpoenas, records collection and investigative tactics used during Operation Arctic Frost.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Former special counsel Jack Smith has accepted an invitation to testify publicly before the Senate Judiciary Committee as Chairman Chuck Grassley intensifies his investigation into Operation Arctic Frost and its collection of records involving Republican lawmakers and organizations.
Grassley, R-Iowa, announced Monday that he had asked Smith to appear Sept. 22, arguing that Congress and the public are entitled to a full accounting of the investigation and the methods used by Smith’s team.
“Im inviting Jack Smith 2 testify before Senate Judic Cmte on Sept 22,” Grassley wrote on X. “American ppl deserve nothing less than full transparency+ accountability for Arctic Frost and special counsel lawfare.”
Smith accepted the invitation subject to approval from the Justice Department, according to Politico.
His attorneys, Lanny Breuer and Peter Koski, said Smith conducted his work in accordance with department rules and applicable law.
Smith “steadfastly followed Justice Department policies, observed applicable legal requirements, and took actions based on the facts and the law” during his tenure as special counsel, the attorneys wrote.
They said Smith welcomes the opportunity to testify publicly and “correct the many mischaracterizations” surrounding his investigations.
Operation Arctic Frost examined efforts to challenge and overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Grassley and other Republicans have accused the investigation of improperly targeting Trump allies, members of Congress and conservative organizations.
The committee chairman said Smith’s investigators obtained telephone toll records involving approximately a dozen Republican senators and collected text messages from more than 40 members of Congress. He also said the investigation sought private communications and financial information connected to hundreds of Republican individuals and entities.
“In the process of a deeply flawed, weaponized investigation, Jack Smith subpoenaed phone toll records from a dozen senators, scooped up text messages from over 40 members of Congress, and subpoenaed the private communications and financial records of hundreds of other Republican entities and individuals,” Grassley said in a committee statement.
“He needs to answer directly to Congress for his actions,” Grassley continued. “Smith must be honest and forthcoming in his answers, because the American people deserve nothing less than full transparency and accountability.”
Grassley disclosed last year that the Arctic Frost investigation sought phone records belonging to 10 Republican senators and at least one House member, The Hill reported.
He later said the Justice Department informed him that investigators had also reviewed communications involving 44 lawmakers and White House staff members.
The Sept. 22 appearance would give senators an opportunity to question Smith directly about the legal basis for the subpoenas, the scope of the records obtained and the safeguards used when collecting communications involving elected officials.
Smith previously testified before the House Judiciary Committee in January. During that appearance, he defended the investigations into President Donald Trump and said the evidence supported bringing criminal charges.
The federal prosecutions were later dismissed following Trump’s victory in the 2024 presidential election, consistent with the Justice Department’s longstanding position that a sitting president cannot be criminally prosecuted.
Republicans are expected to focus the Senate hearing on whether Smith’s team exceeded appropriate investigative boundaries and whether political considerations influenced the inquiry. Democrats are expected to argue that Smith followed department procedures and pursued the cases based on the evidence and the law.
Justice Department approval remains necessary before Smith’s participation is finalized, but his attorneys have indicated that he is prepared to appear and defend his record publicly.
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