Raskin says the toll records "were lawfully subpoenaed" because Trump "made those Members of Congress relevant to the investigation"
Jamie RaskinU.S. representative from Maryland and Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee
In his opening statement at the House Judiciary Committee's January 22, 2026 hearing with Smith, Rep. Jamie Raskin said Republicans had complained about the special counsel's review of toll records, which he described as phone records showing only the timing and duration of calls and no content. He said the records were lawfully subpoenaed because Donald Trump made those members of Congress relevant to the investigation by choosing to call them to advance what Raskin called a criminal scheme.
“My colleagues have complained about the Special Counsel’s review of toll records, which are phone records like a phone bill showing only the timing and duration of calls and containing no content, no substance whatsoever from the calls. But those records were lawfully subpoenaed because Donald Trump made those Members of Congress relevant to the investigation. It was Trump who chose to call them to advance his criminal scheme.”
Official statement
Other statements by Jamie Raskin in this case
- Raskin defends Smith's subpoenas while backing broader notice protectionsLater: Defended or excused
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
Official statement
About this source
House Judiciary Committee Democrats' text of Ranking Member Jamie Raskin's opening remarks at the committee's January 22, 2026 hearing with Jack Smith. In one paragraph Raskin addresses Republican complaints about the toll records of members of Congress.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Earlier in the opening statement, Raskin said that as rioters attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021, Trump and his team called members of Congress urging them to delay certification of the election. Just before this passage he told Smith he had followed every applicable law, ethics rule and Justice Department regulation.
After the quotation
Raskin added that Smith had testified that toll records for Democratic senators would have been obtained had Trump called them, and closed the passage by saying, "I trust our colleagues get the point, because America certainly gets the point."
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. Raskin said the toll records were lawfully subpoenaed because Trump made those members relevant to the investigation. That defends the collection as proper, so we labeled it Defended or excused.
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- Raskin says the toll records "were lawfully subpoenaed" because Trump "made those Members of Congress relevant to the investigation"
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The Dispute Index. "Raskin says the toll records "were lawfully subpoenaed" because Trump "made those Members of Congress relevant to the investigation"". First published: 2026-09-29. Last updated: 2026-09-29. https://disputeindex.com/events/3352-in-his-opening-statement-at-the-house-judiciary