Kennedy berates Smith over conversations with Garland

who were you taking orders from? Senator John Kennedy didn't get a straight answer, which tells you everything about the former special counsel’s operation. Smith subpoenaed congressional phone records, chatted comfortably with Garland, and apparently thought no one would ever call him on it. Kennedy did, and the uncomfortable squirming was the highlight of the hearing.

The real story here isn't the courtroom theatrics. It's that a prosecutor with unmatched power had no problem cozying up to the Biden Justice Department while simultaneously going after Donald Trump and Republican staffers. Kennedy pressed Smith on his personal feelings about Joe Biden, and the dodges spoke louder than any testimony. If Smith had nothing to hide, he could have just said so. Instead, he gave the committee the same runaround he gave the country for two years.

This is what oversight is supposed to look like. One senator, a few pointed questions, and the whole house of cards starts shaking. The phone records alone should outrage anyone across the aisle, but they won't, because the targets were conservatives. That's the double standard that keeps wearing a hollowed-out robe of legitimacy. Kennedy did his job today. The rest of Washington should take notes, but they won't.