Durbin Questions Former Special Counsel Jack Smith During Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing
Smith told the committee that toll records were metadata, denied initiating wiretaps and said former FBI official Timothy Thibault had no role in his team or decisions.
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, questioned former Special Counsel Jack Smith during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. Durbin began his questions by asking about toll record requirements.
“There is, I think, appropriate concern by members of this Committee and members of Congress as to your activities related to their telephone conversations, text messages, and records. Please explain to us what involvement you had with any information from members of Congress?” Durbin asked. He went on to ask, “Why were they relevant?”
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Mr. Smith responded by clarifying that toll records are metadata, not the content of phone calls or messages. He also stated that his office secured toll records from third party companies as part of the investigation, and before his office did that, he consulted with the Public Integrity Section (PIN) of the Department of Justice (DOJ) inquiring if those toll record subpoenas were “appropriate.”
He went on to explain that the records were relevant for a number of reasons. He continued to say, “first, with respect to the toll records regarding the evening of January 6, those records corroborated evidence that we had that the President—President Donald Trump—and his co-conspirators were seeking to exploit the violence on January 6 in furtherance of their criminal scheme.” Mr. Smith stated the toll records were “an important part of our investigation—centrally relevant to the issue of criminal intent.” He stated that the toll records added to the evidence of Donald Trump’s “guilt”—inciting an insurrection to overturn the election results.
Durbin asked if, during the events of January 6, if President Trump was in contact with some members of Congress. Mr. Smith confirmed President Trump was in contact with members of Congress.
“This has been characterized by some as a ‘wiretap.’ Did you initiate any wiretaps relevant to members of Congress of either party?” Durbin asked.
Mr. Smith responded, “no,” and again, verified that toll records are “noncontent records.”
“My colleagues have spent an extensive amount of time discussing Timothy Thibault, who retired from the FBI in August 2022. According to our information, you were appointed Special Counsel three months after his retirement in November of 2022. Was Timothy Thibault a part of your Special Counsel team?” Durbin asked.
Mr. Smith responded, “no.”
“Did you ever meet him during your work as Special Counsel?” Durbin followed up.
Mr. Smith responded, “no, not that I recall.”
“Did Timothy Thibault or the work he had done—whatever it was—influence any of your decision making as Special Counsel?” Durbin asked.
Mr. Smith responded, “no, we made our decisions based on the facts, based on the law, [and] based on the investigation that my team conducted.”
Durbin concluded, “I would say to those who are following the hearing—after hearing all of these references of Timothy Thibault—he was gone… from the FBI by the time Mr. Smith was appointed and he never met him. And he was not a part of his team. Some of these conspiracy theories just keep mushrooming despite the evidence to the contrary.”
Video of Durbin’s questions in Committee is available here.
Audio of Durbin’s questions in Committee is available here.
Footage of Durbin’s questions in Committee is available here for TV Stations.
In November 2022, then-Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Mr. Smith, a nonpartisan career prosecutor, as Special Counsel with authority to investigate President Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, as well as Trump’s effort to illegally retain highly classified government documents. As a result of these investigations, Special Counsel Smith indicted Trump on four counts in the election interference case and 40 counts in the classified documents case. Mr. Smith has offered to testify publicly under oath before the Senate Judiciary Committee for almost a year. Instead of allowing Mr. Smith to testify, Senate Judiciary Republicans heldwastefulhearings to relitigate the 2020 presidential election, despite numerous other issues worth examining within the Committee’s jurisdiction.
When Trump was re-elected president in November 2024, Special Counsel Smith moved to dismiss the cases against him based on the Department of Justice’s position that the Constitution forbids the federal indictment and prosecution of a sitting president. Following the dismissal, Special Counsel Smith provided Garland a two-volume report outlining his findings in both investigations. While Garland released Volume I, concerning the election interference case, Judge Aileen Cannon enjoined DOJ from releasing Volume II, concerning the classified documents case.
In October 2025, and again in February 2026, Durbin led all Senate Judiciary Democrats in sending a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) calling on him to allow former Special Counsel Jack Smith to testify before the Committee. In their letters, the Senators also urged Chairman Grassley to request DOJ release Volume II of Special Counsel Smith’s report.
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