Jack Smith dodges questions about spying on Republican lawmakers

Jack Smith walked into the Senate Judiciary Committee ready to defend the indefensible, but he forgot his talking points. The former special counsel admitted to secretly obtaining Republican lawmakers’ phone records, yet he couldn’t say whether his subpoenas asked for their locations. He also drew a blank on key details about demands for conservative fundraising data. That’s not a memory problem. That’s a dodge.

Smith wants Americans to trust that he was just doing his job, investigating an insurrection. But a prosecutor who can’t explain the scope of his own surveillance shouldn’t get the benefit of the doubt. These weren’t anonymous staffers or low-level aides. These were sitting members of Congress. If the Justice Department can quietly scoop up a senator’s phone records and then plead ignorance about the details, what can’t it do? The question answers itself.

Democrats on the committee tried to change the subject, as they always do. But the fact remains that Smith’s team went after political opponents with subpoenas, and now the man in charge is playing forgetful. That isn’t accountability. It’s a shell game. Republicans should keep the pressure on until Smith gives straight answers, not evasions. The public deserves to know whether the government spied on its own lawmakers. Smith’s memory lapse is convenient. It’s also an insult.