Fox News Digital exclusively obtained a letter Smith’s attorneys sent to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley Thursday afternoon, after both panels signaled interest in testimony from the former special counsel.

EXCLUSIVE: JACK SMITH TRACKED PRIVATE COMMUNICATIONS, CALLS OF NEARLY A DOZEN GOP SENATORS DURING J6 PROBE, FBI SAYS

“Given the many mischaracterizations of Mr. Smith’s investigation into President Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents and role in attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election, Mr. Smith respectfully requests the opportunity to testify in open hearings before the House and Senate Judiciary Committees,” Smith attorneys Lanny Breuer and Peter Koski wrote.

Former Special Counsel Jack Smith is requesting to testify in open, public hearings before the House and Senate Judiciary Committees. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“During the investigation of President Trump, Mr. Smith steadfastly adhered to established legal standards and Department of Justice guidelines, consistent with his approach throughout his career as a dedicated public servant,” they wrote.

“He is prepared to answer questions about the Special Counsel’s investigation and prosecution, but requires assurance from the Department of Justice that he will not be punished for doing so,” they continued. “To that end, Mr. Smith needs guidance from the Department of Justice regarding federal grand jury secrecy requirements and authorization on the matters he may speak to regarding, among other things, Volume II of the Final Report of the Special Counsel, which is not publicly available.”

Smith’s attorneys also noted that in order to provide “full and accurate answers to your questions, Mr. Smith requires access to the Special Counsel files, which he no longer has the ability to access.”

Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, leaves the Republican caucus meeting at the Capitol in Washington, Oct. 12, 2023.  (Jose Luis Magana/The Associated Press )

JACK SMITH DEFENDS SUBPOENAING REPUBLICAN SENATORS’ PHONE RECORDS: ‘ENTIRELY PROPER’

“With the guidance and access described above, Mr. Smith is available to testify in an open hearing at your earliest convenience,” they wrote.

A source familiar told Fox News Digital that Smith’s attorneys are planning to officially seek guidance from the Department of Justice on the matter.

The letter from Smith’s attorneys comes after Jordan, R-Ohio, requested Smith appear for a closed-door transcribed interview and provide all records from his work related to President Donald Trump.

Senator Chuck Grassley, a Republican from Iowa and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, speaks during a hearing in Washington, Sept. 16, 2025.  (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The letter also comes after Grassley, R-Iowa, and nearly two dozen Senate Republicans demanded that the Department of Justice and FBI release documents on Smith’s decision to subpoena telecommunications companies for phone records of a number of Senate Republicans during his probe into Jan. 6, 2021.

Fox News Digital exclusively reported earlier in October that Smith tracked the private communications and phone calls of GOP Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Tommy Tuberville of Alabama and GOP Rep. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania as part of his “Arctic Frost” investigation.

An official said the records were collected in 2023 by Smith and his team after subpoenaing major telephone providers.

FBI Director Kash Patel shakes hands with Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa during a Senate Judiciary hearing on Sept. 16, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

An FBI official told Fox News Digital that Smith and his team tracking the senators were able to see which phone numbers they called, the location the phone call originated and the location where it was received.

A source said the calls were likely in reference to the vote to certify the 2020 election.

Smith, though, called his decision to subpoena several Republican lawmakers’ phone records “entirely proper” and consistent with Justice Department policy.

“As described by various Senators, the toll data collection was narrowly tailored and limited to the four days from January 4, 2021 to January 7, 2021, with a focus on telephonic activity during the period immediately surrounding the January 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol,” Smith’s lawyers wrote Tuesday to Grassley.

Former Attorney General Merrick Garland, President Donald Trump and Special Counsel Jack Smith.  (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images | Photo by Rebecca Noble/Getty Images | Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

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Smith was appointed special counsel by Attorney General Merrick Garland in November 2022.

Smith, after months of investigating, charged Trump in the U.S. District Court for Washington, D.C., in his 2020 election case, but after Trump was elected president, Smith sought to dismiss the case. Judge Tanya Chutkan granted that request.

Smith’s case cost taxpayers more than $50 million.

“Jack Smith certainly has a lot of answering to do, but first, Congress needs to have all the facts at its disposal,” Grassley told Fox News Digital Thursday. “Hearings should follow once the investigative foundation has been firmly set, which is why I’m actively working with the DOJ and FBI to collect all relevant records that Mr. Smith has had years to become familiar with.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Jordan for comment and has yet to receive a reply.

Fox News’ Ashley Oliver contributed to this report.

Brooke Singman is a political correspondent and reporter for Fox News Digital, Fox News Channel and FOX Business.

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The admissions, which came from U.S. District Judge Julien Xavier Neals in New Jersey and U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate in Mississippi, came in response to an inquiry by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Grassley described the recent court orders as “error-ridden.”

In letters released by Grassley’s office on Thursday, the judges said the rulings in the cases, which were not connected, did not go through their chambers’ usual review processes before they were released.

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The judges’ admissions came in response to an inquiry by Sen. Chuck Grassley. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The judges both said they have since adopted measures to improve how rulings are reviewed before they are posted.

Neals said in his letter that a June 30 draft decision in a securities lawsuit “was released in error – human error – and withdrawn as soon as it was brought to the attention of my chambers.”

The judge said a law school intern used OpenAI’s ChatGPT to perform legal research without authorization or disclosure that he also said was contrary to the chamber’s policy and relevant law school policy.

“My chamber’s policy prohibits the use of GenAI in the legal research for, or drafting of, opinions or orders,” Neals wrote. “In the past, my policy was communicated verbally to chamber’s staff, including interns. That is no longer the case. I now have a written unequivocal policy that applies to all law clerks and interns.”

FEDERAL JUDGE FINES, REPRIMANDS LAWYER WHO USED AI TO DRAFT COURT FILINGS

Sen. Chuck Grassley described the recent court orders as “error-ridden.” (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Wingate said in his letter that a law clerk used Perplexity “as a foundational drafting assistant to synthesize publicly available information on the docket,” adding that releasing the July 20 draft decision “was a lapse in human oversight.”

“This was a mistake. I have taken steps in my chambers to ensure this mistake will not happen again,” the judge wrote.

Wingate had removed and replaced the original order in the civil rights lawsuit, declining at the time to give an explanation but saying it contained “clerical errors.”

Grassley had requested that the judges explain whether AI was used in the decisions after lawyers in the respective cases raised concerns about factual inaccuracies and other serious errors.

APPARENT AI MISTAKES FORCE TWO JUDGES TO RETRACT SEPARATE RULINGS

Sen. Chuck Grassley had asked the judges to explain whether AI was used in the decisions after lawyers raised concerns about factual inaccuracies and other errors. (Photo by SUSAN WALSH/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

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“Honesty is always the best policy. I commend Judges Wingate and Neals for acknowledging their mistakes and I’m glad to hear they’re working to make sure this doesn’t happen again,” Grassley said in a statement.

“Each federal judge, and the judiciary as an institution, has an obligation to ensure the use of generative AI does not violate litigants’ rights or prevent fair treatment under the law,” the senator continued. “The judicial branch needs to develop more decisive, meaningful and permanent AI policies and guidelines. We can’t allow laziness, apathy or overreliance on artificial assistance to upend the Judiciary’s commitment to integrity and factual accuracy. As always, my oversight will continue.”

Lawyers have also faced scrutiny from judges across the country over accusations of AI misuse in court filings. In response, judges have issued fines or other sanctions in several cases over the past few years.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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Grassley posted the four-page memorandum on X, saying it proves top Biden administration officials “personally approved” the case — which he referred to as “Arctic Frost” — and that it “unleashed unchecked government power at the highest levels.”

The Iowa Republican added, “My oversight will continue.”

The April 2022 memo, signed by Garland, Monaco and Wray, authorized the FBI’s Washington Field Office to open what the bureau designated a “Sensitive Investigative Matter.” The document details the FBI’s request to examine whether individuals connected to Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign conspired to obstruct Congress’ certification of the Electoral College on Jan. 6, 2021.

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“Following the 2020 Presidential and Vice Presidential election, in an apparent effort to obstruct Congress’s certification of Electoral College, fraudulent certificates of electors’ votes were submitted to the Archivist of the United States, purporting to represent the actual elector votes from the states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, and Wisconsin,” the executive summary reads. “Open source reporting and public statements made by individuals closely associated with Donald J. Trump, Inc. (Trump Campaign) present an articulable factual basis indicating the existence of a federal crime, and thus the FBI seeks to open a full investigation.

“Because this investigation involves a SIM as set forth in the Department of Justice memorandum dated February 5, 2020, entitled ‘Additional Requirements for Opening of Certain Sensitive Investigations’ (DOJ Memo), your authorization is required before WFO may initiate this full investigation,” the document continued.

Monaco wrote at the bottom of the document, “Merrick- I recommend you approve,” before initialing and dating it “4/5/22.” Garland ultimately signed off on the investigation on the same day.

DEM REP DEFENDS DOJ OBTAINING GOP SENATOR CALL RECORDS IN 2023: ‘YOU WEREN’T SURVEILLED’

Sen. Chuck Grassley released a memo from former FBI Director Christopher Wray to former Attorney General Merrick Garland to open an investigation into the Trump campaign in April 2022, for allegedly attempting to interfere with Congress’ certification of the 2020 election. (Samuel Corum-Pool, Anna Moneymaker and Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images)

The authorization came more than a year after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot and months before now-former special counsel Jack Smith was appointed to oversee related investigations. The memo appears to document an early stage of the Justice Department’s examination of the so-called “fake electors” effort that became a focus of Smith’s probe.

In 2023, Smith subpoenaed phone records belonging to eight Republican senators and one House member, covering a four-day period — Jan. 4 to Jan. 7, 2021 — to examine call activity around the Capitol riot. The subpoenas did not seek call content but instead listed numbers, dates and durations.

The targeted senators included Republican Sens. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Josh Hawley of Missouri and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.

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Jack Smith, U.S. special counsel, speaks during a news conference in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023.  (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

In addition to the eight senators, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told Fox News’ Sean Hannity Tuesday that he recently discovered Smith also attempted to subpoena his toll records but that his phone company, AT&T, did not hand them over.

Smith said the records were narrowly tailored and “entirely proper,” adding they were meant to support his investigation into Trump’s alleged efforts to subvert the 2020 election results.

Senator Chuck Grassley, a Republican from Iowa and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, speaks during a hearing in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

His lawyers wrote to Grassley, saying the subpoenas complied with Justice Department policy and were routine.

Republicans have broadly claimed they were inappropriately spied on and compared Arctic Frost to the Watergate scandal. Smith’s lawyers emphasized the normalcy of seeking phone records and said public officials are not immune from investigation.

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Smith’s attorneys also disputed accusations from FBI Director Kash Patel that the subpoenas were hidden, noting the requests were referenced in a footnote of Smith’s final report and shared with Trump’s defense team in discovery.

Fox News Digital’s Ashley Oliver contributed to this report.

Greg Wehner is a breaking news reporter for Fox News Digital.

Story tips and ideas can be sent to Greg.Wehner@Fox.com and on Twitter @GregWehner.

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