Veteran Dem breaks ranks in Jack Smith subpoena lawmaker fight
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., says Republicans are "rightly concerned" after records showed former special counsel Jack Smith's team reviewed texts involving 44 members of Congress. A Jack Smith subpoena lawmaker fight now grips Capitol Hill as newly released DOJ files and unsealed court papers detail how prosecutors obtained lawmakers' communications in Trump-related probes.
Key Takeaways
- Sen. Richard Blumenthal told Fox News Digital that Republicans are right to worry about possible Justice Department norm breaches tied to Jack Smith's probes.
- Senate Judiciary Committee records show Smith's team obtained text messages involving 44 members of Congress and White House staff.
- Politico reported the messages were among National Archives materials turned over after a subpoena covering October 2020 to January 2021.
- A federal judge unsealed filings showing prosecutors sought lawmakers' call logs identified only by phone numbers, over Justice Department objections.
The latest Capitol Hill clash sits at the center of Celebrity Breaking News coverage because it mixes power, secrecy, and a rare Democratic break with party messaging.
What did Jack Smith's team obtain from lawmakers?
According to documents released by the GOP-led Senate Judiciary Committee, Smith's investigation into President Donald Trump included the Department of Justice collecting text messages between 44 members of Congress — Republicans and Democrats — and White House staff.
Politico reported that Smith obtained texts those lawmakers sent to senior White House officials in the final weeks of Trump's first term. The messages were part of materials the National Archives turned over after a subpoena for White House records from October 2020 to January 2021.
Fox News reported the communications were tied to Smith's probes of the Jan. 6 Capitol breach and Trump's storage of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.
Why did a Democratic senator break with his party?
Blumenthal's comments stood out because other Democrats largely avoided weighing in on the Republican-led inquiry. Speaking to Fox News Digital on Wednesday, he said more facts are needed and urged a closer look.
"I think we need to have more facts. Look into it. Republicans are rightly concerned about the possible breach of norms and improper access to email," Blumenthal said.
His remarks mark a rare note of bipartisan concern over how politically sensitive communications were handled during highly consequential Trump investigations.
What did newly unsealed court filings reveal?
The New York Times reported that a federal judge, over Justice Department objections, unsealed court filings related to a Jack Smith subpoena used to obtain call logs of lawmakers who interacted with the Trump White House around Jan. 6, 2021.
Those filings confirmed that when Smith's team asked a court to bar phone companies from discussing the subpoenas, prosecutors did not tell the court the accounts belonged to members of Congress. The targets were identified only by phone numbers.
The Times noted that Smith's use of subpoenas to secretly obtain lawmakers' toll records — logs showing when calls were made, not their contents — has been known since October. Smith later testified that department rules at the time did not require disclosing that the subjects were members of Congress.
How are Republicans responding on Capitol Hill?
After the Senate Judiciary Committee released the documents, multiple Republican lawmakers alleged Smith perjured himself by answering "no" when a congressional lawyer asked whether he requested text messages from lawmakers as part of his investigation.
The dual revelations — archived texts involving 44 members and unsealed filings on secret call-log subpoenas — have intensified Republican scrutiny of whether Justice Department safeguards failed, while Blumenthal's call for more facts keeps the pressure from becoming purely partisan.