Durbin seeks Schmitt records and apology to Jack Smith

Durbin presses for records

Senate Judiciary Democrats, led by Sen. Dick Durbin, demanded records that they said were used as the basis for Sen. Eric Schmitt’s questioning of former special counsel Jack Smith last week. They accused Republican committee members of breaking committee rules by failing to share those documents.

The records are tied to an exchange in which Schmitt made a confusing mistake involving sports teams while accusing Smith. Schmitt has faced backlash over the mistake.

The Democrats also demanded an apology to Smith. Their requests address both the handling of committee materials and the way Smith was questioned.

What the dispute is about

The procedural question is whether documents used to frame questions were shared as committee rules require. Durbin and other Judiciary Democrats said they were not, and they directed their complaint at Republican members of the panel.

The records demand seeks the materials behind Schmitt’s questioning. Producing them would let committee members examine the documents that Democrats say shaped the exchange.

The apology is a separate request concerning Smith’s treatment during the questioning. Together, the demands ask Republicans to respond to an alleged committee rules violation and to criticism of Schmitt’s remarks.

Document sharing is the immediate committee issue raised by Democrats. The next steps depend on whether Republican committee members produce the requested records and whether an apology is made to Smith.