Jack Smith is an American lawyer who spent nearly three decades as a federal and international prosecutor. He headed the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section, served as acting U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, and led the Specialist Prosecutor's Office of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague. From November 2022 to January 2025 he served as a U.S. Department of Justice special counsel, overseeing federal investigations into Donald Trump related to the 2020 election and the handling of classified documents. In early 2026 he co-founded the law firm Heaphy, Smith, Harbach & Windom with three other former federal prosecutors.
Case
At a September 29 Senate hearing, Sen. Eric Schmitt asked Jack Smith whether he attended a February 2024 Atlanta Hawks game, in questions about Fani Willis. Smith said no and recalled a Maryland-Iowa game; Klobuchar said Schmitt had the teams wrong.
Case
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.
Role at the time: Former special counsel, testifying under oath before the Senate Judiciary Committee
Response to this claim
Jack Smith said that the toll records his office obtained from telephone companies were non-content records, that the Public Integrity Section approved the subpoenas, and that the nondisclosure orders were consistent with the law and Justice Department policy at the time.
“We do not have to wait for someone to be injured, for an investigation to be obstructed. We had strong reason to believe that Donald Trump would obstruct our investigation, given the obstruction alleged in the Florida indictment, given the attempts to intimidate witnesses in the election case, given the threats that were later made to witnesses in the election case. ... We sought to follow department policy and the law at all times. ... We submitted these nondisclosure orders consistent with the law and department policy. ... We did not say who the subpoenas were for when we sought a nondisclosure order. That part is correct.”
Smith defended the nondisclosure orders as consistent with the law and Justice Department policy and as needed because of the risk of obstruction by Trump, while agreeing that his office did not identify the subpoenas' subjects to the court. That defends the orders as proper, so we labeled it Defended or excused.
Role at the time: Former special counsel, testifying under oath before the Senate Judiciary Committee
Response to this claim
Jack Smith said that the toll records his office obtained from telephone companies were non-content records, that the Public Integrity Section approved the subpoenas, and that the nondisclosure orders were consistent with the law and Justice Department policy at the time.
“First, with respect to toll records. Toll records are non-content records. They show who a call was to, who a call was from, and the length of that call. My office did secure toll records from third parties, third party telephone companies in the course of our investigation that were records for members of Congress. Before we did that, we consulted with the Public Integrity Section regarding whether those toll records subpoenas were appropriate. I approved those records and those records were materially relevant to our investigation. ... The records that we're talking about are non-content records. The toll records are non-content records that we sought to corroborate evidence we had and also to assist us in questioning witnesses about these events, among other things. ... We sought toll record subpoenas that did not contain the content of calls. I am also aware that we sought White House phones for individuals who are relevant to our investigation, government phones in which they had no expectation of privacy.”
Smith said his office obtained members' toll records after consulting the Public Integrity Section, that he approved them, that they were non-content records relevant to the investigation, and that the White House phones were government phones. That defends the collection as proper, so we labeled it Defended or excused.
Role at the time: Former special counsel, testifying under oath before the Senate Judiciary Committee
Response to this claim
Sen. Eric Schmitt implied that Jack Smith attended a Golden State Warriors versus Atlanta Hawks NBA game in Atlanta on February 3, 2024, asking Smith whether he had gone to the game and displaying a poster of text messages he described as coming from Smith's team.
“if this is the correct basketball game, I recall going to a University of Maryland basketball game where Caitlin Clark was playing right around that time ... You could check if that was the exact date. It was Maryland playing Iowa, I think February of 2024”
Smith does not adopt Schmitt's description of the game. He says the game he recalls attending around that date was a Maryland game with Caitlin Clark, hedges that the date could be checked, and so disputes the description of the game as a Hawks game.
Role at the time: Former special counsel, testifying under oath before the Senate Judiciary Committee
Response to this claim
Sen. Eric Schmitt implied that Jack Smith attended a Golden State Warriors versus Atlanta Hawks NBA game in Atlanta on February 3, 2024, asking Smith whether he had gone to the game and displaying a poster of text messages he described as coming from Smith's team.
“I definitely did not go to a Hawks game. I'm sure of that.”
Smith directly denies the specific factual claim Schmitt put to him about attending the Hawks game and being in Atlanta.
Statement dates: September 29, 2026
Statement dates: September 29, 2026
Statement dates: September 29, 2026
Statement dates: September 29, 2026
