Sen. Chuck Grassley has invited former special counsel Jack Smith to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on September 22, the Iowa Republican announced Monday. Grassley, who chairs the committee, said he aims to ensure “full transparency and accountability for Arctic Frost and special counsel lawfare,” referring to Smith’s investigation into attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
The invitation comes months after Smith testified before the House Judiciary Committee in January, where he defended his prosecution efforts against President Donald Trump. Smith told lawmakers that his investigation “developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in criminal activity,” though both of his cases—involving alleged election interference and classified documents—were dropped after Trump’s 2024 victory.
Grassley’s push for Senate testimony reflects mounting Republican scrutiny of Smith’s methods. In July, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan issued a criminal referral against Smith, alleging he misled Congress about the scope of his investigation. The referral followed revelations that Smith’s team reviewed text messages from 44 members of Congress—40 Republicans and four Democrats—as part of the election-related probe, according to Reuters reporting in mid-July.
Grassley, who was among the lawmakers whose communications were examined, said in a statement that Smith “has answering to do.” The senator had revealed in October 2025 that Smith’s Arctic Frost investigation sought phone records from 10 GOP senators and at least one House member. In mid-July, Grassley disclosed that Smith’s team had “secretly obtained” lawmakers’ text messages as part of the investigation into Trump’s alleged role in the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot and his handling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.
Smith has previously argued that his investigations followed Department of Justice policy and were not influenced by politics. When he testified before the House in January, he said he expected Trump officials to “do everything in their power” to prosecute him but pledged he would “not be intimidated” by such efforts.
The Senate hearing would mark Smith’s second major congressional appearance since leaving office. His January testimony before the House provided detailed testimony on his prosecutorial decisions and the evidence his team gathered, though Republicans have since contested his characterizations of the investigation’s scope and methods.
Sources
- The Hill — Grassley’s invitation to Smith to testify on September 22, his statement about accountability
- Reuters — Details on the 44 lawmakers whose texts were reviewed, the investigation’s focus, and Grassley’s disclosure of the matter
- AP News — Smith’s January 2026 House testimony and his statements about evidence of criminal activity
- PBS NewsHour — Smith’s January testimony and his response to Republican questioning
- ABC News — Jim Jordan’s criminal referral against Smith in July 2026
