{"id":2630179,"date":"2026-07-15T15:08:01","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T19:08:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/todd-blanche-hearing-turns-to-jack-smith-bombshells\/"},"modified":"2026-07-15T15:09:32","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T19:09:32","slug":"todd-blanche-hearing-turns-to-jack-smith-bombshells","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/todd-blanche-hearing-turns-to-jack-smith-bombshells\/","title":{"rendered":"Todd Blanche hearing turns to Jack Smith bombshells"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftodd-blanche-hearing-turns-to-jack-smith-bombshells%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2630179&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Senate Republicans sharply scrutinized acting Attorney General Todd Blanche during his testimony before the Senate judiciary Commitee regarding the investigation conducted by Jack Smith&#8217;s team. A key point of contention was the revelation that Smith\u2019s office accessed text messages from 44 members of Congress, including 20 senators, during their probe into former President Donald Trump. Grassley and other senators expressed concern that the records included privileged communications related to legislative and investigative work, accusing Smith\u2019s team of bypassing protocols designed to protect congressional communications. Blanche emphasized the importance of openness and pledged to disclose relevant records and address previous misconduct.<\/p>\n<p>The hearing also covered broader issues, such as the FBI obtaining data from around 20% of Senate Republicans, including prominent members, without their knowledge. Senators criticized the focus of the investigations on Trump and his supporters, questioning whether law enforcement actions were politically motivated. several senators,including Schmitt,Hawley,and Cruz,called for investigations into Smith himself,alleging possible misconduct and perjury. Democrats defended Smith, noting he had volunteered to testify under oath, though Republicans criticized the lack of his absence during the hearings. the session highlighted intense congressional oversight of federal investigations regarding Trump&#8217;s legal proceedings and the conduct of Smith\u2019s team.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Senate Republicans used <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/todd-blanche\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"20883\">Todd Blanche\u2019s<\/a> attorney general confirmation hearing on Wednesday to amplify the fresh revelation that former special counsel <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/jack-smith\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"869\">Jack Smith\u2019s<\/a> team accessed text messages involving 44 members of Congress during its investigation into President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\">Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cDid Jack Smith read my emails?\u201d Sen. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/john-kennedy\/page\/3\/\">John Kennedy<\/a> (R-LA) asked Blanche, who is serving as acting attorney general.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4649584\/todd-blanche-confirmation-hearing-jack-smith-arctic-frost-investigation\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Todd Blanche confirmation hearing turns to Jack Smith bombshells: \u2018Did Jack Smith read my emails?\u2019<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4649275\/indiana-braun-race-sex-business-enterprises-program\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Indiana GOP governor ends race- and sex-based contracting<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4649115\/todd-blanche-congress-attorney-general-confirmation\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>WATCH LIVE: Todd Blanche testifies before Congress at attorney general confirmation hearing<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, July 15, 2026.\u00a0 (AP Photo\/Allison Robbert)<\/p>\n<p>&#8221; data-large-file=&#8221;https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2026\/07\/localimages\/AP26196630640819_a6daec.jpg?w=696&#8243; &#8220;https:><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, July 15, 2026.\u00a0 (AP Photo\/Allison Robbert)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m not sure, senator. I don\u2019t know,\u201d Blanche replied.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kennedy pressed Blanche to determine whether Smith obtained his emails, how they were obtained, what communications involving Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/chuck-grassley\/\">Chuck Grassley<\/a> (R-IA) were collected, and whether they were shared with former Attorney General <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/merrick-garland\/\">Merrick Garland<\/a>, the former  <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/department-of-justice\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/department-of-justice\/\">Justice Department<\/a> head under the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/biden-administration\/\">Biden administration<\/a> who appointed Smith to handle two federal prosecutions involving Trump.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere are checks in place that should make it extraordinarily difficult for a prosecutor to collect and review a senator\u2019s emails,\u201d Blanche said, adding that those safeguards \u201cshould always be used.\u201d When Kennedy said Smith \u201cjust ignored them,\u201d Blanche, who represented Trump during Smith\u2019s criminal cases against the then-former president, responded that he could not speak for the former special counsel.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The exchange followed Grassley\u2019s <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4647976\/jack-smith-team-texts-44-members-congress-doj-records\/\">Tuesday disclosure<\/a> that Smith\u2019s office obtained White House text messages involving 44 lawmakers, including 20 senators, as part of a subpoena to the National Archives for records from the final months of Trump\u2019s first term.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Grassley said Smith\u2019s team bypassed a filter process intended to identify potentially privileged congressional communications before investigators reviewed the records. He said the Trump DOJ acknowledged in a letter to the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/judiciary-committee\/\">Senate Judiciary Committee<\/a> that the special counsel\u2019s investigative team \u201capparently bypassed the filter team and directly accessed these text messages.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Iowa Republican argued the records included material covered by the Constitution\u2019s speech-or-debate protections, including communications relating to legislation, resolutions, and investigative work. He called Smith\u2019s operation a \u201crunaway political train\u201d and asked Blanche what the DOJ had done to ensure similar conduct did not recur.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe biggest thing we can do \u2026 is be transparent about what happened,\u201d Blanche said, pledging to provide records to Congress and disclose prior department misconduct.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) broadened the attack, asking Blanche to confirm that Garland, then-Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, and then-FBI Director Christopher Wray <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3862100\/garland-wray-memo-greenlit-arctic-frost-investigation-trump\/\">personally approved<\/a> the opening of <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3868459\/bidens-watergate-jack-smith-sought-197-subpoenas-in-arctic-frost-investigation\/\">Operation Arctic Frost<\/a>. Blanche said they did.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\">Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., attends a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, July 15, 2026.\u00a0 (AP Photo\/Allison Robbert)<\/p>\n<p>&#8221; data-large-file=&#8221;https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2026\/07\/localimages\/AP26196630814759.jpg?w=683&#8243; height=&#8221;1024&#8243; width=&#8221;683&#8243; &#8220;https:><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., attends a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, July 15, 2026.\u00a0 (AP Photo\/Allison Robbert)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cruz recounted that the investigation involved nearly 200 subpoenas and targeted more than 400 Republican-aligned groups and individuals. Blanche agreed. He also confirmed Cruz\u2019s assertion that the FBI obtained phone data belonging to roughly 20% of Senate Republicans, including Cruz, several Judiciary Committee members, FBI Director Kash Patel, and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, without their knowledge.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cruz said the Biden DOJ\u2019s focus on Trump and his supporters meant it was not focused enough on crime and border security, citing the Biden administration\u2019s estimated 12 million southern border encounters and 2 million known \u201cgotaways.\u201d Blanche agreed with the figures.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) called the reported access to lawmakers\u2019 text-message content \u201cun-American\u201d and said it came \u201cuncomfortably close to spying on a coequal, coordinate branch\u201d of government.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) went further, saying Smith should face prosecution for allegedly lying to Congress about whether investigators had obtained more than phone logs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Likewise, Schmitt colleague Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) asked Blanche whether he had thought about investigating Smith for \u201cperjury,\u201d referring to Smith\u2019s comments to the House Judiciary Committee last year about his pursuit of phone toll records for several lawmakers related to the text messages he received.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-26\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-5\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Hawley: Have you thought about investigating Jack Smith for perjury?<\/p>\n<p>Blanche: We take testimony in front of this body very seriously. Yes.<\/p>\n<p>Hawley: Good. I think he absolutely should be investigated. I hope that you prosecute him. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Rpy5VSOMqH\">pic.twitter.com\/Rpy5VSOMqH<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Acyn (@Acyn) <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Acyn\/status\/2077446218125578503?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 15, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe take testimony in front of this body very seriously. Yes,\u201d Blanche said, signaling openness to a criminal false statements investigation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Democrats pushed back. Ranking member Dick Durbin (D-IL) said Smith had volunteered to testify under oath before the committee and accused Republicans of declining to call him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4647976\/jack-smith-team-texts-44-members-congress-doj-records\/\">JACK SMITH TEAM REVIEWED CONTENTS OF TEXTS INVOLVING 44 MEMBERS OF CONGRESS, DOJ RECORDS SHOW<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But Grassley <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3844119\/grassley-no-jack-smith-arctic-frost-hearings-until-doj-hands-over-more-records\/\">has said since October<\/a> that he wants to call Smith before the committee after more information emerges about the former special counsel\u2019s handling of the controversial Trump prosecutions during the Biden administration.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cJack Smith has answering to do, and I intend to have him before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the coming months to hold him accountable,\u201d Grassley said Tuesday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Senate GOP questions Blanche on Jack Smith\u2019s text message access<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2633,"featured_media":2630180,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP26054527935934.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[3976,4901,51639],"class_list":["post-2630179","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-investigation","tag-justice","tag-law-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP26054527935934.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2630179","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2633"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2630179"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2630179\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2630182,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2630179\/revisions\/2630182"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2630180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2630179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2630179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2630179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}