Kennedy berates Smith over conversations with Merrick Garland
Senator John Kennedy of louisiana questioned former special counsel Jack Smith during his Senate Judiciary Committee testimony regarding Smith’s relationship with higher-ups in the Biden governance and his decision to subpoena congressional phone records. Kennedy expressed skepticism about weather President Biden was consulted before Smith initiated investigations into Donald trump, implying potential interference or bias.Smith stated he made independent decisions based on strong evidence, without knowing if garland checked with Biden. kennedy also scrutinized Smith’s handling of subpoenas, especially concerning lawmakers’ phone records, emphasizing that these records did not include content of conversations. Additionally, Kennedy brought up smith’s personal connections and opinions, including his wife’s support for Biden, and criticized Smith’s actions, describing them as potentially biased and politically motivated. The hearing highlighted tensions over the impartiality of the Justice Department and Smith’s investigative decisions.
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.
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. 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.
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“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. “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.’ And, and you don’t think he checked with President Biden to see if it was OK?”
“I have no idea what he did,” Smith responded. “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 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.” Kennedy then poked Smith, questioning whether he believed in the tooth fairy or the Easter bunny.
“I no longer believe in the Easter Bunny,” Smith said during his 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.
“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.
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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).
“You’re unbiased, you have no personal feelings,” Kennedy said to Smith, sarcastically. “You make me want to throw up in my mouth.”
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