The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold hearings in early 2026 surrounding former special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into President Donald Trump — culminating in a hearing later in the year where Smith will testify in person before the panel.
“Arctic Frost was a runaway train that swept up information from hundreds of innocent people simply because of their political affiliation,” Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley said in a statement, shared first with POLITICO. “Congress and the American people want answers, and sunshine is the best disinfectant.”
The Iowa Republican continued, “The Senate Judiciary Committee is leading this investigation to find out exactly what went wrong, so that bad actors can be held accountable and this sort of political witch hunt never happens again.”
The announcement follows news that Smith requested Republican lawmakers’ phone records as part of his probe into Trump’s efforts to subvert the results of the 2020 election. The revelations enraged GOP Senators, who argued Smith’s investigation amounted to a weaponization of the Justice Department and have been clamoring for hearings.
Four Senate Judiciary subcommittees are expected host hearings beginning in January focusing on how telecommunications companies responded to Smith’s subpoenas for lawmakers’ data; legal issues presented by those subpoenas; how judges handled non-disclosure orders for Smith’s subpoenas; and the use of government resources for the probe.
Among those who could be chairing the subcommittee hearings will be Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who were among the senators singled out by Smith. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is another subcommittee chair expected to oversee a hearing who claims to have been subject to a subpoena.
It’s not clear when Smith will testify before a full Senate Judiciary Committee hearing but is scheduled to testify across the Capitol next Wednesday behind closed doors to staff investigators with the House Judiciary Committee.
House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who is leading that effort, had his phone data requested by the Biden Justice Department prior to Smith joining the investigations into 2020 election interference and Trump’s handling of classified documents.
A spokesperson for Smith did not immediately provide comment.
