Sheldon Whitehouse
Role at the time: U.S. senator from Rhode Island and member of the Senate Judiciary Committee; former U.S. attorney
Statement summary
In his questioning of Smith, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse said some of what had taken place at the hearing reflected a lack of familiarity with standard Justice Department procedures, and said the Justice Department in the first Trump administration also obtained toll records of members of Congress before Smith did. Smith agreed that his office obtained nondisclosure orders and said he understood the earlier investigation had done the same.
“reflects a lack of familiarity with standard Department of Justice procedures. ... Because before you obtained toll records of members of Congress, the Department of Justice under President Trump, in his first administration, obtained toll records of members of Congress.”
Senate Judiciary Committee's archived video of the September 29, 2026 hearing. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) compared Smith's toll-record subpoenas and nondisclosure orders with those of the Justice Department in the first Trump administration.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Why we used this label
The case asks whether the collection of members' phone records and messages was proper. Whitehouse said some of what had taken place at the hearing reflected unfamiliarity with standard Justice Department procedures and compared the collection with the first Trump administration's own acquisition of members' toll records. That defends the collection as ordinary practice, so we labeled it Defended or excused.