Booker says "they're trying to say this is partisanship" but "My records were swept up"

Cory BookerU.S. senator from New Jersey and member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, listed by the Justice Department among members whose texts with White House personnel were obtained

Challenged the characterization

Sen. Cory Booker's remarks to former special counsel Jack Smith at the Senate Judiciary Committee's Sept. 29, 2026 hearing.

Excerpt from 3:29:53 to 3:30:47 of the committee's archived hearing video. DI added its logo in the corner.

Video: U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Public domain (U.S. government work) (opens in a new tab)

Watch the full original video (opens in a new tab) (relevant passage: Sen. Cory Booker's remarks to Smith, about 3:29:56 to 3:30:45 on the archived video timeline)

Watch this clip on its own page

During his questioning of Smith, Sen. Cory Booker said Republicans were trying to say the investigation was partisan, and said his own records and text messages, and those of Karen Bass, were also swept up.

“And they're trying to say this is partisanship. My records were swept up. My text messages were part of it. Karen Bass's text messages were a part of it.”

Original video

Watch the original video (opens in a new tab)Oversight of Jack Smith's Abuse of Authority and the Targeting of Republicans and Related Matters (hearing video) · Senate Committee on the JudiciarySen. Cory Booker's remarks to Smith, about 3:29:56 to 3:30:45 on the archived video timeline

Original text

Read the original text (opens in a new tab)U.S. Department of Justice (Assistant Attorney General Patrick D. Davis) to Sen. Chuck Grassley, July 2026 (Arctic Frost filter team) · United States Department of JusticePages 1-4, including the list of 44 current and former members of Congress

Reporting

Open source (opens in a new tab)Jack Smith defends handling of Trump probes at heated Senate hearing · CBS NewsLive updates for 9:22 AM, 10:11 AM, 10:39 AM, 12:41 PM and 12:52 PM

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The Hart Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., photographed from across a street on a clear day.
Credit: Architect of the Capitol

Where this statement fits

Were members of Congress's phone records and text messages properly obtained in the Arctic Frost and Jack Smith investigations?

On September 29, 2026, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing titled "Oversight of Jack Smith's Abuse of Authority and the Targeting of Republicans and Related Matters," with former special counsel Jack Smith as its only witness. Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and other Republicans said that Smith's team, in the FBI's Arctic Frost investigation and its own election case, obtained members of Congress's phone toll records and text messages, used nondisclosure orders to keep members from learning of it, and breached the Speech or Debate Clause. Smith said the toll records were non-content records obtained after he directed his staff to consult the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section, and that the nondisclosure orders were consistent with the law and Justice Department policy at the time. Ranking Member Dick Durbin (D-IL) called the attacks on Smith "petty, personal, and political." The sides and the documents give different counts of the members affected. The dispute is whether the collection of members' phone records and messages was proper.

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Source and context

Original video

Oversight of Jack Smith's Abuse of Authority and the Targeting of Republicans and Related Matters (hearing video) (opens in a new tab) · Senate Committee on the JudiciarySen. Cory Booker's remarks to Smith, about 3:29:56 to 3:30:45 on the archived video timeline

About this source

Senate Judiciary Committee's archived video of the September 29, 2026 hearing. Sen. Cory Booker responded to Republican claims that the investigation was partisan and said his own records and text messages were among those obtained.

Archived copy (opens in a new tab)

Watch the clip from this source at the top of the page.

Original text

U.S. Department of Justice (Assistant Attorney General Patrick D. Davis) to Sen. Chuck Grassley, July 2026 (Arctic Frost filter team) (opens in a new tab) · United States Department of JusticePages 1-4, including the list of 44 current and former members of Congress

About this source

The Justice Department's Office of Legislative Affairs letter answering a May 8, 2026 request from Grassley and Sen. Ron Johnson. It describes the filter team, the National Archives production of White House text messages on August 21, 2023, and lists 44 current and former members whose texts with White House personnel the special counsel's team obtained.

Archived copy (opens in a new tab)

Reporting

Jack Smith defends handling of Trump probes at heated Senate hearing (opens in a new tab) · CBS NewsLive updates for 9:22 AM, 10:11 AM, 10:39 AM, 12:41 PM and 12:52 PM

About this source

CBS News live coverage of the September 29, 2026 hearing, including Smith's answers to Durbin and Cruz and his testimony that the strongest witnesses in the election case were Republicans.

Archived copy (opens in a new tab)

Before the quotation

Booker was reacting to Smith's testimony that the investigation relied principally on Republican witnesses.

After the quotation

Booker asked Smith what had happened to the career prosecutors and FBI agents who worked on the cases. Smith said they had been fired unlawfully and publicly vilified. The Justice Department's July 2026 letter lists Booker among the 44 current and former members whose texts with White House personnel Smith's team obtained.

How this statement is classified

Challenged the characterization

The label describes this statement's response within the context above.

Why this label?

The case asks whether the collection of members' records was proper. Booker did not address the Speech or Debate or nondisclosure-order arguments. He disputed the idea that the collection was partisan by saying his own records and text messages, and Karen Bass's, were also included. That challenges a characterization without addressing the collection's legality, so we labeled it Challenged the characterization.

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The Dispute Index
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Booker says "they're trying to say this is partisanship" but "My records were swept up"
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https://disputeindex.com/events/3321-during-his-questioning-of-smith-sen-cory-booker

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The Dispute Index. "Booker says "they're trying to say this is partisanship" but "My records were swept up"". First published: 2026-09-29. Last updated: 2026-09-29. https://disputeindex.com/events/3321-during-his-questioning-of-smith-sen-cory-booker