Ted Cruz
Role at the time: U.S. senator from Texas, questioning Smith at the Senate Judiciary hearing
Statement summary
Sen. Ted Cruz asked Smith about 2 U.S.C. section 6628, which Cruz said protects Senate communication records, and said Smith gave a judge an order contrary to federal law and got the judge to sign such orders repeatedly. When Smith said his office's work securing the subpoenas and nondisclosure orders was consistent with the law, Cruz said the orders were explicitly contrary to federal statute and to the federal constitution.
“So instead, you gave the judge an order that was contrary to federal law, and you got the judge to sign order after order after order that was contrary to federal law. ... It was explicitly contrary to federal statute. It was explicitly contrary to the federal constitution.”
Senate Judiciary Committee's archived video of the September 29, 2026 hearing. Sen. Ted Cruz read language from a nondisclosure order, asked Smith about a federal statute on Senate communication records, and Smith explained why his office sought the orders.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Why we used this label
Cruz said the nondisclosure orders Smith's office obtained were contrary to a federal statute and to the Constitution. That rejects the nondisclosure orders as improper, so we labeled it Condemned.