Jack Smith: Spying on GOP Lawmakers Was ‘Centrally Relevant’ to Trump Investigation– slaynews.com
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EXCERPT:
Former special counsel Jack Smith defended secretly obtaining the cellphone records of Republican lawmakers during his prosecution of President Donald Trump, insisting the data was “centrally relevant” to his investigation.
Smith repeatedly justified the surveillance during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday, arguing that the records helped prosecutors build their case accusing Trump of attempting to overturn the 2020 election.
Trump was charged following Smith’s Arctic Frost investigation, but the prosecution collapsed after the president won the 2024 election.
Smith Targeted Republican Lawmakers’ Records
Smith obtained call records belonging to Sens. Ron Johnson (R-WI), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), and Tommy Tuberville (R-AL).
Investigators also obtained the phone records of Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA).
The records did not include the contents of conversations, but showed the identities of callers and recipients, along with the duration of each call.
Smith also secured nondisclosure orders from U.S. District Court Chief Judge James Boasberg that prevented lawmakers from learning that federal investigators had obtained their records.
The former special counsel said his team consulted the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section before demanding the information from third-party telephone companies.