WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Congressman Scott Fitzgerald (WI-05) questioned former Special Counsel Jack Smith during a House Judiciary Committee hearing entitled “Oversight of the Office of Special Counsel Jack Smith.” The hearing focused on Smith’s investigations and prosecutions of President Donald Trump.

Congressman Fitzgerald questioned Jack Smith about his relationship with former Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General, Marshall Miller, a man whom Smith has known since 1999. He pressed Smith on whether that relationship influenced his appointment as special counsel during the Biden Administration.

“Mr. Smith, you’ve known Mr. Miller since you were both Assistant United States Attorneys in New York. You’ve stayed in touch over your twenty-year careers in the federal government. He gets a job with the Biden Administration, and just a few short months later, you’re offered the role of special counsel,” said Congressman Scott Fitzgerald. “I’m having a hard time believing this is some big coincidence and that there wasn’t a back-and-forth about the role of special counsel. How is anyone supposed to believe that you were truly independent, as you claim? For all we know, Mr. Miller wanted you in that position not because you’re a good lawyer, but because of your reputation and long-term friendship. He knew that you would pursue exactly what the Biden Administration wanted—criminal charges against President Trump.”

This hearing also reinforced the need to pass H.R. 6048, the NDO Fairness Act. As mentioned by multiple committee members during the hearing, the unconstitutional subpoena of phone records for Members of Congress was a gross abuse of power. Not only did Smith’s team fail to notify the Federal Judge that the subpoenas were for Members of Congress, but he also imposed a non-disclosure order, or NDO, prohibiting the phone companies from notifying Members of the search. The NDO Fairness Act would require notification of a subpoena after 90-days, ensuring all Americans, not just Members of Congress, have a right to challenge the constitutionality of a subpoena.

“After the House of Representatives repealed the ridiculous cash grab that was snuck in by the Senate in the last government funding bill, it is time to protect the privacy of all Americans, not just elected officials,” said Congressman Fitzgerald. “I hope my Republican colleagues on Senate Judiciary will work with me to safeguard the rights of our constituents on strong bipartisan legislation that has passed the House the previous two Congresses, the NDO Fairness Act.”

Watch Congressman Fitzgerald’s full questioning of former Special Counsel Jack Smith:

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