Lead report from Axios
What happened
Former special counsel Jack Smith defended his criminal investigations of Donald Trump during a fiery Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. Meanwhile, Senator Marsha Blackburn filed a lawsuit against Smith, alleging he unlawfully obtained her congressional phone records during his investigation. Republican lawmakers heavily criticized Smith during the hearing, accusing him of abusing his power.
Outlets across the political spectrum agree that former special counsel Jack Smith testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee and faced sharp questioning from Republican senators regarding his investigations of Donald Trump.
Left-leaning outlets like The Guardian and NBC News focus on Republicans attacking Smith with intense rhetoric and inaccurate information while Smith defended his work. Center outlets like Roll Call and PBS NewsHour provide straightforward reporting on both the Senate hearing and Senator Blackburn's lawsuit over phone records. Right-leaning outlets like Blaze Media and The Washington Examiner frame Smith's actions as a threat, emphasizing whistleblower documents, donor records, and allegations of targeting political enemies.
Written by Parallax News with AI assistance from the 17 reports compared below. How this works
Slide to compare coverage
Center · Roll Call
Bias ratings describe an outlet's overall coverage—not whether this particular article is accurate.
Blackburn sues Jack Smith over phone records
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., sued former special counsel Jack Smith on Wednesday, alleging that his prosecution of the president also unconstitutionally pulled in her records as a member of Congress. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, moves a political fight over the sweep of Smith’s investigation into…
Read at Roll CallChoose a story to feature it above.
Axios ·
Roll Call ·
Blaze Media ·
left: 4 · center: 5 · right: 8. Counts describe displayed outlets, not independent investigations or the accuracy of their reporting.
Source context: Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) sued former special counsel Jack Smith Wednesday, alleging he unlawfully obtained her cellphone toll records during his investigation of Trump and the 2020 electionWhy it matters: The lawsuit escalates Republicans' efforts to challenge Smith's inve…
The wording comparison is calculated from the featured headlines. It is a reading aid; it does not infer an outlet's motives or verify claims. Follow the original sources for evidence and context. See our source directory.
Coverage from 9/29/2026, 7:11:05 PM UTC to 9/30/2026, 8:59:15 PM UTC. A missing source may reflect feed or matching limitations.
Open a headline at its original source, or choose “Show as featured story” to compare it above.
Center Left · Axios
Center · Roll Call
Right · Blaze Media
Center Left · The Guardian
Center · PBS NewsHour
Far Right · The Last Refuge
Left · TPM – Talking Points Memo
Center Right · Washington Examiner
Center Left · NBC News
Right · The Daily Caller
Far Right · One America News Network
4 publishers
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) sued former special counsel Jack Smith Wednesday, alleging he unlawfully obtained her cellphone toll records during his investigation of Trump and the 2020 electionWhy it matters: The lawsuit escalates Republicans' efforts to challenge Smith's investigation more than a year after his probe ended.What they're saying: "Through…
GOP senators lash out on Smith, who led criminal cases against Trump, with invective and inaccurate informationFormer special counsel Jack Smith, who led two criminal cases against Donald Trump in 2023, faced attacks from Republicans in a wide-ranging hearing on Tuesday that included a basketball mix-up, a reference to the tooth fairy and accusations of…
TPM has found fairly definitive evidence proving Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) misread text messages when he attempted to corner former...
Weeks before the coming midterm elections, senate republicans turned up the heat, unloading their anger on a frequent target of President Donald Trump’s fury, former special counsel Jack Smith. The president and some republicans say the former prosecutor should be prosecuted himself, arguing Smith abused his power and sought to hurt Mr. Trump politically.…
5 publishers
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., sued former special counsel Jack Smith on Wednesday, alleging that his prosecution of the president also unconstitutionally pulled in her records as a member of Congress. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, moves a political fight over the sweep of Smith’s investigation into…
The prosecutor who led criminal investigations of President Trump for the Department of Justice faced questions from Senate Republicans on Tuesday. Former special counsel Jack Smith handled two probes. One focused on the president's efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the other on Trump's alleged mishandling of classified documents. Justice…
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) on Tuesday blasted Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) after he and his staff appeared to confuse one basketball team for another when questioning former special counsel Jack Smith’s attendance at a game. Schmitt earlier Tuesday asked Smith if he attended a February 2024 NBC game in Atlanta between the Hawks and the…
Schmitt did not say he made a mistake, telling a NewsNation local affiliate his job is "to ask the questions" while Smith's job is to answer them.
Former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith defended two criminal indictments against President Trump on Capitol Hill.
8 publishers
Jack Smith, the Biden regime’s former special counsel, is back in the news with his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. The Oversight Project has uncovered new records that don’t focus on the settled question of why Smith used federal power to target political enemies, but instead on how he was able to do it.Understanding the “how”…
Earlier today, Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley released explosive whistleblower documents showing how former Special Prosecutor Jack Smith demanded the records of donors to President Trump from December 2019 through August 2023. [Press Release Here] – [Donor Records Here] Records provided to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley…
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) filed a lawsuit Wednesday against former special counsel Jack Smith over the subpoena of her phone records he issued during the Arctic Frost investigation. Blackburn also alleged his appointment was unlawful. Smith faced a grilling before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday over his investigation and prosecution of…
Sen. Marsha Blackburn sued former special counsel Jack Smith and the Justice Department in Tennessee federal court Wednesday.
Investigation Into Jack Smith Suggests He Was The Real Threat To Democracy
In a public appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee, former Special Counsel Jack Smith faced intense scrutiny from Republican lawmakers while vigorously defending his criminal prosecutions of President Donald Trump.
