Sen. Chris Coons's questions on nondisclosure orders, at the Senate Judiciary Committee's Sept. 29, 2026 hearing with former special counsel Jack Smith.

Sen. Chris Coons asked Smith whether his nondisclosure requests were fairly typical and fully compliant with Justice Department policy at the time; Smith said yes. Coons said the government's bar for granting nondisclosure orders may be too low, described his NDO Fairness Act with Sen. Mike Lee, and said that colleagues enraged by Smith's pursuit of the orders, which he called legal and appropriate and timely, could do something about it.

“These types of NDO requests are fairly typical in DOJ investigations, and your NDO requests were fully compliant with the Department of Justice policy at the time. ... I believe the government bar, the current bar for granting NDOs may be too low and that government requests for secrecy are too often granted. My NDO Fairness Act with Senator Mike Lee would ensure NDOs are only issued in circumstances requiring secrecy in a way that would better protect all Americans, including members of Congress. ... I'm not suggesting you've done anything wrong. I'm just suggesting that if I have colleagues who were enraged by your legal and appropriate and timely pursuit of NDOs, there's something we can and should do about it.”