The Dispute Index

Chuck Grassley

Portrait of Chuck Grassley
United States Congress

United States Senator (Republican) from Iowa.

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What we have documented

We have documented 6 statements by Chuck Grassley, in 3 cases. Each statement below gives the quotation, its original source and a link to the full case.

Case updates

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Statements by Chuck Grassley

Portrait of Chuck Grassley

Chuck Grassley

Role at the time: Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee

Condemned

Statement summary

Grassley accuses Floris and Benavides of smearing congressional oversight and welcomes DOJ's charges as accountability.

“These two unelected bureaucrats used the power of government to smear my and Senator Johnson’s constitutional oversight”
Read the official statement (opens in a new tab)Grassley Statement on Former FBI Officials Charged with Lying to Congress · Chuck GrassleyStatement following the announcement of charges against Floris and Benavides
Why we used this label

The case concerns the alleged knowing and material false statements by Floris and Benavides. Grassley accuses Floris and Benavides of smearing congressional oversight and welcomes DOJ's charges as accountability.

Read statementFull case: DOJ accuses Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides of lying; their lawyers reject the charges
Portrait of Chuck Grassley

Chuck Grassley

Role at the time: Senate Judiciary Committee chairman

Condemned

Statement summary

Grassley calls Smith's actions unlawful and unconstitutional and criticizes secretly obtaining committee members' phone data. Those judgments are Grassley's assertions.

“the major embarrassment of the hearing was Democrats falling over themselves defending unlawful and unconstitutional actions by Jack Smith.”
Read the official statement (opens in a new tab)Grassley replies to Senate Judiciary Democrats about Jack Smith evidencePage 1, paragraph beginning Contrary to your misguided statement; page 2, opening paragraph on phone data; pages 3-4, access to records.
Why we used this label

Grassley condemns Smith's investigative conduct. The next page connects his criticism to the collection of members' phone data.

Read statementFull case: Were members of Congress's phone records and text messages properly obtained in the Arctic Frost and Jack Smith investigations?
Portrait of Chuck Grassley

Chuck Grassley

Role at the time: Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, in his opening statement as prepared for the hearing

Condemned

Response to this claim

Sen. Chuck Grassley said that Jack Smith sought the toll records of 16 members of Congress, that the government sought toll records from at least four members before Smith, and that Smith's team also obtained the content of member communications, breaching the Speech or Debate Clause.

“Before Jack Smith, the government sought toll records from at least four Members of Congress. Jack Smith sought the toll records of 16 Members of Congress and also obtained the content of Member communications, breaching Speech or Debate. ... Accordingly, Jack Smith’s secretive efforts obtained Member toll records and, ultimately, content. Then, he sought Non-Disclosure Orders to hide his effort from Members, while also apparently failing to apprise the court of the targets.”
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 JudiciaryChairman Grassley's opening remarks, about 0:31:39 to 0:37:05 on the archived video timeline (toll-record passages at 0:31:44-0:32:26 and 0:36:42-0:37:05)
Why we used this label

The case asks whether the collection of members' phone records and messages was proper. Grassley said Smith sought the toll records of 16 members, obtained the content of member communications in breach of Speech or Debate, and sought nondisclosure orders to hide the effort from members. That rejects the collection as improper and unconstitutional, so we labeled it Condemned.

Read statementFull case: Were members of Congress's phone records and text messages properly obtained in the Arctic Frost and Jack Smith investigations?
Portrait of Chuck Grassley

Chuck Grassley

Role at the time: U.S. Senator, Iowa

Defended or excused

Statement summary

Chuck Grassley voted nay on H.Con.Res. 89, a vote against directing the removal of U.S. forces from unauthorized hostilities with Iran.

“On the Concurrent Resolution H.Con.Res. 89: A concurrent resolution directing the President, pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution, to remove United States Armed Forces from hostilities with Iran.”
Read the official statement (opens in a new tab)U.S. Senate Roll Call Vote 244: H.Con.Res. 89, Iran War Powers Resolution (rejected, 49-50)
Why we used this label

Voted against directing the removal of U.S. forces from unauthorized hostilities with Iran, a vote to let U.S. involvement continue without congressional authorization.

Read statementFull case: Do they support the war in Iran?
Portrait of Chuck Grassley

Chuck Grassley

Role at the time: U.S. Senator, Iowa

Defended or excused

Statement summary

Chuck Grassley voted Nay on H.Con.Res. 86, the Senate resolution directing the President to remove U.S. Armed Forces from hostilities with Iran.

“On the Concurrent Resolution H.Con.Res. 86: Directing the President, pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution, to remove United States Armed Forces from hostilities with Iran.”
Read the official statement (opens in a new tab)U.S. Senate Roll Call Vote 184: H.Con.Res. 86, Iran War Powers Resolution (agreed to, 50-48)
Why we used this label

A nay vote opposed the resolution directing the removal of U.S. Armed Forces from hostilities with Iran, allowing U.S. military operations in the war to continue.

Read statementFull case: Do they support the war in Iran?
Portrait of Chuck Grassley

Chuck Grassley

Role at the time: U.S. Senator for Iowa at the statement date.

Defended or excused

Statement summary

Grassley defends military operations as necessary to protect Americans and prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

“the United States is taking decisive action to provide safety and certainty for the American people.”
Read the official statement (opens in a new tab)Grassley defends the Iran campaign as protecting AmericansComplete official April 14, 2026 floor remarks
Why we used this label

Relative to U.S. military involvement in the 2026 Iran war, Grassley defends military operations as necessary to protect Americans and prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

Read statementFull case: Do they support the war in Iran?

A participant is a subject of the case. A speaker has a statement documented in it. A commentator has an opinion or editorial documented in it.

Case

Do they support the war in Iran?

Relationship to this case: Speaker

An issue tracker recording where members of Congress and 2026 midterm candidates stand on the unauthorized Iran war, based on their votes on war-powers resolutions, campaign statements, and public remarks.

Iran WarU.S. PoliticsUpdated

Case

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

Relationship to this case: Participant

Republicans say Jack Smith's team improperly obtained members of Congress's phone records and texts and used nondisclosure orders to hide it. Smith and Democrats say the toll records were approved and lawful; Smith says the texts came from White House phones. Member counts differ.

U.S. PoliticsLaw EnforcementUpdated

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