Former special counsel Jack Smith testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, defending his prosecution of President Trump in a hearing that quickly turned combative as Republicans accused him of running a "partisan weapon" against the president and his allies.

"My office developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in serious crimes against our nation," Smith told the panel in his opening statement, adding that he has "no partisan loyalties" and does not regret bringing the case. He later told senators, "I will not be silenced by the continued threats of prosecution from the president or others."

Phone Records Under Fire

Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley used his opening remarks to accuse Smith's team of subpoenaing toll records — logs showing the date, length and parties of phone calls, though not their content — from roughly a dozen sitting senators, and of sweeping up text messages from more than 40 members of Congress during the Jan. 6 investigation. Grassley has separately demanded answers from the telecom carriers that turned the records over.

"I WILL NOT BE SILENCED."

Smith defended the subpoenas as necessary to establish whether Trump or his allies had contact with lawmakers around the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, telling the committee that records from the White House switchboard were incomplete and that it was unclear how many phones individual lawmakers were using. He characterized the records obtained as "non-content" — meaning prosecutors could see who called whom and for how long, but not what was said.

Tuesday's hearing, formally billed by Republicans as an oversight session into "Jack Smith's Abuse of Authority and the Targeting of Republicans," is the most extensive public airing yet of the special counsel's investigative methods since he closed his two federal cases against Trump following the 2024 election. Democrats on the panel used their time to push back, noting that Smith's final report concluded prosecutors had sufficient evidence to convict Trump had the case gone to trial.

Grassley has indicated the committee plans further sessions examining Smith's investigation, including additional scrutiny of the "Arctic Frost" surveillance records his office has released in recent weeks. Democrats, meanwhile, have signaled they intend to use their own committee time to highlight what they call politically motivated investigations the current administration has opened into Smith and other former officials. Smith, who left the Justice Department in early 2025, has faced escalating pressure from the administration since Trump's return to office; Tuesday's testimony marked his most direct public defense yet of both his legal conclusions and the tactics his team used to reach them.