All posts tagged "Senate Judiciary Committee"

Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) was warned that texts he used to accuse former special counsel Jack Smith of perjury were unvetted.

Republican staff on the Senate Judiciary Committee cautioned Schmitt ahead of Smith's testimony Tuesday that the Justice Department texts had not been verified, a source with direct knowledge of the conversation told MS NOW for a report on Wednesday. Schmitt went ahead and used them anyway.

According to the source, Schmitt had asked GOP staffers for material tying Smith's investigation of Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' Georgia case. His team was given access to the texts after showing interest, but committee staff made clear that checking the information was their job, the source said....

Senate Republicans' plan to grill former special counsel Jack Smith next week could backfire on them, according to legal analyst Michael Popok.

Smith is set to testify Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), at a hearing Republicans have titled "Oversight of Jack Smith's Abuse of Authority and the Targeting of Republicans."

"It's a big break for Jack Smith. He's the one who's been pushing to testify publicly," Popok's guest, MeidasTouch Washington bureau chief Scott MacFarlane, said on the Legal AF program. "Jack Smith wants the scrutiny of the fishbowl because he doesn't want to be lied about."...

A photo revealed opposition research notes that FBI Director Kash Patel prepared for his Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday.

Reuters photographer Evan Vucci snapped a close-up of the color-coded talking points in Patel's hands during the Senate Judiciary Committee oversight hearing on the FBI. The Tuesday morning hearing marked his first appearance before Congress since May.

The close-up revealed what Patel had written about Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), the committee's ranking member. Patel's notes said, "Durbin info" at the top, and under that, he had points like, "wealth has increased 364% since 1997 (took office in 1983)," with "364%" in red, "fined by FEC for late disclosures," "wife has lobbying conflicts," and "total of ten federal grants announced by Durbin went to his wife's clients," with "ten" in red....

The delayed vote to advance the confirmation of Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is drawing sharp online reactions.

On Wednesday, reporters revealed that the Senate Judiciary Committee planned to delay the markup and vote on Blanche's nomination to be President Donald Trump's attorney general, with Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), the committee chair, saying he's working to help shore up votes to advance the nomination.

Online, reactions ranged from surprise to condemnation of the move by the Republican-led committee. Blanche's confirmation had been complicated by his handling of the Epstein files as deputy attorney general and his refusal to put in writing that Trump's anti-weaponization fund is dead....

The Senate Judiciary Committee is delaying the vote to advance Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, according to breaking news.

Andrew Desiderio, the senior congressional reporter for Punchbowl News, shared the news on a post on X alongside a copy of a Senate Judiciary Committee agenda with Blanche's nomination on it. The copy also had the red letters "POSTPONED" across the top.

The committee was initially scheduled to vote on Blanche's confirmation on Thursday, which is a key procedural hurdle the acting attorney general needs to cross before he is confirmed. ...

An outgoing Republican senior senator brushed aside a dig by President Donald Trump as a "convenient excuse" for recent frustrations.

On Wednesday, reporters swarmed Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) as they sought any hint of how he would vote on the confirmation of Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. Cornyn has remained silent on whether he'll vote to confirm Blanche, who can't afford to lose even one Republican vote if every Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee votes against his confirmation.

One reporter told Cornyn, "President Trump noted that he didn't endorse you," referring to the fact that Cornyn lost his bid for reelection in May to the Trump-endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton....