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During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday, Sen. John Kennedy questioned former special counsel Jack Smith about his interactions with then-Attorney General Merrick Garland and the Biden administration regarding investigations into former President Donald Trump. Kennedy accused Smith of possibly acting under presidential influence, though Smith denied knowing if such interference occurred. The exchange escalated when Kennedy said, “You make me want to throw up in my mouth,” expressing strong dissatisfaction with Smith’s impartiality and actions during his investigation.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-29,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
On Tuesday, former special counsel Jack Smith testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee chaired by Senator Chuck Grassley to defend his two criminal investigations into President Donald Trump. Republicans accuse Smith of abusing authority and politically targeting Republicans, while Democrats support him for standing up against Trump's alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election results and mishandling classified documents. The hearing, titled "Oversight of Jack Smith’s Abuse of Authority and the Targeting of Republicans," also involves scrutiny over subpoenas issued by Smith's office, which were aimed at disrupting certification of Joe Biden's victory in 2020, ultimately leading to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. Smith has insisted his decisions were made without political bias and said he would not be silenced despite threats from Trump's Justice Department.
Written for “Jack Smith Testifies Before Senate” on 2026-10-04,
grounded in this article and the 34 other(s) covering the same event.
Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) grilled former special counsel Jack Smith during his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on his relationship to higher-ups in the Biden administration and his subpoenaing of congressional phone records on Tuesday.
asserted
Kennedy → grill → Tuesday
Kennedy pressed Smith multiple times on his personal feelings about former President Joe Biden and his conversations with former Attorney General Merrick Garland surrounding his investigations into President Donald Trump.
asserted
Kennedy → press → Trump
When Smith told Kennedy he had “absolutely no idea” if Garland checked in with Biden before Smith launched his investigations into Trump, Kennedy railed against the former special prosecutor.
asserted
Kennedy → tell → prosecutor
“So you’re telling me that you’re about to prosecute a former president of the United States, first time in history,” Kennedy said to Smith.
asserted
Kennedy → tell → Smith
“Not only that, you’re about to prosecute a former president of the United States, who’s also the current opponent of Judge Garland’s boss, and you told Judge Garland, ‘Here’s what I’m about to do.’
asserted
I → ’re → what
And, and you don’t think he checked with President Biden to see if it was OK?”
asserted
it → think → Biden
“I have no idea what he did,” Smith responded.
asserted
Smith → have → what
“My job as a prosecutor on the special counsel regulations was to make an independent decision, and Attorney General Garland could have countermanded that decision, but
uncertain
Garland → make → decision
I made that decision on my own, consulting with my staff and reviewing the incredibly strong evidence that we had accumulated.”
Kennedy then pressed Smith on whether or not the Biden White House directed Garland to investigate Trump, to which Smith again responded, “I have no idea about that.”
asserted
I → make → that
then poked Smith, questioning whether he believed in the tooth fairy or the Easter bunny.
asserted
he → poke → fairy
“I no longer believe in the Easter Bunny,” Smith said during his testimony.
asserted
Smith → believe → testimony
Kennedy also questioned Smith over his subpoena of lawmakers’ phone records, his wife’s support for Biden, and the fact that Smith sought nondisclosure orders instead of telling Judge James Boasberg about the congressional phone records.
asserted
Smith → question → records
“We sought the toll records, non-content records,” Smith said of the phone records he subpoenaed during the Arctic Frost investigation, noting several times throughout the testimony that the records did not detail the content of the lawmakers’ conversations.
asserted
records → seek → conversations
The investigation, directed by Smith, targeted the phone records of multiple Republican lawmakers, including Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), and Josh Hawley (R-MO).
asserted
investigation → direct → Blackburn
“You’re unbiased, you have no personal feelings,” Kennedy said to Smith, sarcastically.
asserted
Kennedy → ’re → Smith
“You make me want to throw up in my mouth.”
asserted
me → make → mouth
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