Durbin, Judiciary Committee Democrats Demand Full Production Of Committee Records Following Jack Smith Hearing

October 08, 2026 Durbin, Judiciary Committee Democrats Demand Full Production Of Committee Records Following Jack Smith Hearing Documents used by Schmitt and Hawley have yet to be shared with Democratic Committee Members or their staff, violating the standing rules of the Senate WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, led the Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats in a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) demanding a full production of all Committee records following last week’s oversight hearing with former Special Counsel Jack Smith. During the hearing, Senators Eric Schmitt (R-MO) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) questioned Mr. Smith about documents that had not been shared with Democratic Members or their staff prior to the hearing. It violates Senate Rules XXVI and XXVII to withhold committee records from Members or their staff. Republican Members asking a witness about documents that had not been shared with Democratic Members or their staff is a particularly egregious breach of these rules, a breach that has not yet been rectified as these records still have not been produced to Committee Democrats. The letter also requests an apology to Mr. Smith and emphasizes that Republicans’ attempt to withhold these documents to manufacture a viral moment against Mr. Smith instead created an embarrassing stain on the Committee’s reputation. “ We write to object to the Committee violating Senate rules by failing to provide committee records to the minority in advance of the hearing… As of the date of this letter, we still have not received these records,” the Senators wrote. “We request that you immediately provide these and all other documents that you have withheld, commit to fully complying with Senate rules in the future, and apologize to Mr. Smith on behalf of the Committee for the unacceptable personal attacks and false accusations of perjury he faced during this hearing.” The Senators’ letter continues, “Committee Republicans have now wasted months in their attempt to undermine Mr. Smith’s investigations into President Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election and illegally retain highly classified government documents. Rather than unveiling any credible new insights, the majority has merely cast petty, personal, and partisan aspersions on Mr. Smith and his nonpartisan career staff while ignoring President Trump’s crimes. This farce culminated in a national embarrassment for the Committee, when, in their eagerness to ambush a witness and manufacture a viral moment, Republican Members violated Senate rules by not sharing committee records with the minority and falsely accused a witness of perjury based on their own misunderstanding of these records.” The letter concludes, “We ask that you immediately provide all committee records that you have withheld, commit to fully complying with Senate Rules XXVI and XXVII going forward, and apologize to Mr. Smith on behalf of the Committee.” During the Biden Administration when Democrats were in the majority, then-Chair Durbin shared all committee records with the minority in a timely manner because it is required by Senate Rules, is a longstanding bipartisan Senate Judiciary Committee practice, and is necessary for the Committee to conduct meaningful oversight and carry out its constitutional duties. Additionally, unlike the Trump Administration, the Biden Administration had a practice of producing documents requested by the majority or minority to both the Chair and Ranking Member simultaneously. Full text of the letter is available here and below: October 7, 2026 Dear Chairman Grassley: We write to object to the Committee violating Senate rules by failing to provide committee records to the minority in advance of the hearing titled, “Oversight of Jack Smith’s Abuse of Authority and the Targeting of Republicans and Related Matters” on September 29, 2026. As of the date of this letter, we still have not received these records. We request that you immediately provide these and all other documents that you have withheld, commit to fully complying with Senate rules in the future, and apologize to Mr. Smith on behalf of the Committee for the unacceptable personal attacks and false accusations of perjury he faced during this hearing. During the hearing, Senator Schmitt questioned Mr. Smith about committee records that you have not shared with Democratic Members or staff: texts between a counsel in the Special Counsel’s office and a U.S. Marshal regarding Mr. Smith’s attendance at a basketball game, and a readout of an August 17, 2024 phone call between Mr. Smith and the Department of Justice (DOJ) Public Integrity Section (PIN). Senator Hawley also displayed a chart of the same notes from the August 17, 2024 call with PIN during his questioning. Withholding committee records from Members and their staff violates Rules XXVI and XXVII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, which require that all committee records be shared with the minority. When Democrats were in the majority on this Committee, Chair Durbin shared all committee records with the minority in a timely manner because it is required by Senate Rules, is a longstanding bipartisan Senate Judiciary Committee practice, and is necessary for this Committee to conduct meaningful oversight and carry out its constitutional duties. Additionally, unlike the Trump Administration, the Biden Administration had a practice of producing documents requested by the majority or minority to both the Chair and Ranking Member simultaneously. The folly of withholding information was made clear when Republican Senators’ claims based on these documents were quickly revealed to be incorrect. The Special Counsel’s call notes, which purportedly stated that Mr. Smith filed a superseding indictment against President Trump against the advice of PIN, were actually Mr. Smith’s notes from a call prior to receiving PIN’s approval for an amended superseding indictment. And the texts concerning the basketball game—which Senator Schmitt claimed proved that Mr. Smith attended a game in Atlanta between the Golden State Warriors and Atlanta Hawks on February 3, 2024—were an effort to manufacture a connection between Mr. Smith and the Fulton County Georgia District Attorney. The texts established only that Senator Schmitt had not done the basic due diligence of verifying a document before relying on it. Nonetheless, Senator Schmitt incorrectly asserted to Mr. Smith, “I think you’ve already perjured yourself,” and inexcusably branded him “a dirtbag,” language which is beneath the dignity of this Committee and the Senate. Because these records had not been shared in advance, Democratic Members were forced to synthesize these baseless accusations and respond in real time. This caused needless confusion, slowed down the business of the Committee, introduced the possibility that false information would be entered uncontested into the record, and created an embarrassing stain on one of the most important committees in Congress. While Senator Klobuchar successfully clarified that Mr. Smith had attended a basketball game in a different state on the date in question, and subsequent reporting confirmed the same, Senator Schmitt has since doubled down on his false assertions. He has continued to publicly call Mr. Smith a liar and “dirtbag.” Committee Republicans have now wasted months in their attempt to undermine Mr. Smith’s investigations into President Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election and illegally retain highly classified government documents. Rather than unveiling any credible new insights, the majority has merely cast petty, personal, and partisan aspersions on Mr. Smith and his nonpartisan career staff while ignoring President Trump’s crimes. This farce culminated in a national embarrassment for the Committee, when, in their eagerness to ambush a witness and manufacture a viral moment, Republican Members violated Senate rules by not sharing committee records with the minority and falsely accused a witness of perjury based on their own misunderstanding of these records. We ask that you immediately provide all committee records that you have withheld, commit to fully complying with Senate Rules XXVI and XXVII going forward, and apologize to Mr. Smith on behalf of the Committee. Sincerely, -30- Print Email Share Tweet