Kennedy tells Smith he "had to know it violated the speech and debate clause"
John KennedyU.S. senator from Louisiana and member of the Senate Judiciary Committee
Sen. John Kennedy's questions to former special counsel Jack Smith on senators' phone records and nondisclosure orders, at the Senate Judiciary Committee's Sept. 29, 2026 hearing.
Excerpt from 1:29:10 to 1:31:09 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. John Kennedy's questions to Smith on senators' phone records and nondisclosure orders, about 1:29:13 to 1:31:07 on the archived video timeline)
In his questioning of Smith, Sen. John Kennedy told Smith he had to know that seeking the phone records of senators violated the Speech or Debate Clause. He asked whether Smith told Chief Judge James Boasberg that the records were those of members of Congress, and suggested Smith did not because he knew the judge would not agree.
“Well, then you had to know it violated the speech and debate clause. In fact, when you went to Judge Boasberg, you didn't even tell him you were seeking the phone records of members of Congress, did you? Because you knew he wouldn't agree. He would say, hey, counselor, anybody who knows a law book from a J. Crew catalog knows that this violates the Constitution.”
Original video
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.
Source and context
Original video
About this source
Senate Judiciary Committee's archived video of the September 29, 2026 hearing. Sen. John Kennedy asked Smith whether he sought senators' phone records, whether he knew that violated the Speech or Debate Clause, and whether he told the judge the records were members'.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Watch the clip from this source at the top of the page.
Before the quotation
Kennedy's questions began with Smith's background and whether Smith had sought the special counsel post. Kennedy then asked whether Smith sought the phone records of senators, and Smith answered, "We sought the toll records, non-content records." Asked whether he knew that violated the Speech or Debate Clause, Smith answered, "That is incorrect. We sought to comply with that."
After the quotation
Smith answered, "We sought nondisclosure orders from the court," and, pressed on whether he told the judge, "In seeking nondisclosure orders, we did not disclose." Kennedy then told Smith, "You make me want to throw up in my mouth." Durbin objected that the witness should be allowed to complete a sentence, and Kennedy asked the chair to instruct Smith not to filibuster.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The case asks whether the collection of members' phone records and messages was proper. Kennedy told Smith he had to know that seeking the records violated the Speech or Debate Clause and suggested Smith withheld from the judge that the records were members'. That rejects the collection as improper, so we labeled it Condemned.
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The Dispute Index. "Kennedy tells Smith he "had to know it violated the speech and debate clause"". First published: 2026-09-29. Last updated: 2026-09-29. https://disputeindex.com/events/3347-in-his-questioning-of-smith-sen-john-kennedy