Sen. Dick Durbin's questions and former special counsel Jack Smith's answers on toll records and wiretaps, at the Senate Judiciary Committee's Sept. 29, 2026 hearing.

Answering Sen. Dick Durbin at the hearing, Smith said toll records show who a call was to, who it was from and how long it lasted, not its content; that his office obtained toll records of members of Congress from telephone companies; that it consulted the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section first; and that he approved the records as materially relevant. Asked about wiretaps, he said his office initiated none. Answering Sen. Eric Schmitt, he said the office sought toll-record subpoenas that did not contain call content and also sought White House phones, which he described as government phones in which the users had no expectation of privacy.

“First, with respect to toll records. Toll records are non-content records. They show who a call was to, who a call was from, and the length of that call. My office did secure toll records from third parties, third party telephone companies in the course of our investigation that were records for members of Congress. Before we did that, we consulted with the Public Integrity Section regarding whether those toll records subpoenas were appropriate. I approved those records and those records were materially relevant to our investigation. ... The records that we're talking about are non-content records. The toll records are non-content records that we sought to corroborate evidence we had and also to assist us in questioning witnesses about these events, among other things. ... We sought toll record subpoenas that did not contain the content of calls. I am also aware that we sought White House phones for individuals who are relevant to our investigation, government phones in which they had no expectation of privacy.”