Concluded

Jack Smith defends Trump investigations at Senate hearing

26 articles from 13 outlets First seen: September 28, 2026

Outlets: 6 left · 3 center · 1 right · 3 unclassified · Earliest publisher-stamped report: PBS NewsHour

Former special counsel Jack Smith defended his investigations of President Donald Trump on Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee, rejecting Republican accusations that he abused his authority or acted for political reasons.

Smith said his decisions followed Justice Department policy and evidence, telling senators, “Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in serious crimes against our nation.” Republicans questioned him about the scope of the inquiries, including records obtained from Republican lawmakers and conservative groups. Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt also raised a perjury allegation tied to Smith’s attendance at a February 2024 basketball game; NBC News and the Guardian reported the question appeared to confuse the Atlanta Hawks with the University of Iowa Hawkeyes, while Schmitt said it was not a mistake.

Smith’s two investigations concerned efforts to overturn the 2020 election and alleged mishandling of classified documents. Trump pleaded not guilty in both cases, which CBS News said ended after his election to a second term.

Written by Pure Report from 8 reports across the political spectrum · updated 2026-09-30 12:52 UTC

The reporting behind this story · 8 sources · as of Sep 30, 09:49 UTC

What we know

Former Special Counsel Jack Smith has defended his investigations of President Donald Trump in a United States Senate hearing.

receipt
“Former Special Counsel Jack Smith has defended his investigations of President Donald Trump in a United States Senate hearing.” — verbatim from Al Jazeera English · article

How each side framed it · in their own words

Left

We found no editorialized framing in the left-leaning coverage we ingested (6 outlets, 11 articles) — it reported the story straight.

Center

Republicans accuse Smith of bias

“Republicans argued Smith's prosecutions against the president were politically motivated, and then directly attacked him.”

PBS NewsHour

Right not verified

We found editorialised framing in this side's coverage but could not confirm the exact wording against the outlet's own text. These are our summaries, not quotes.

Schmitt defends his actions

Washington Examiner — the quoted phrase does not appear in this outlet's text

Framing spectrum · 13 outlets

wirepublicmainstream flavoredpartisanadvocacy

Range 4–33/100 (Wire-neutral → Mainstream) Average 12 Articles by lean: 11 left · 6 center · 4 right · 5 unclassified

Coverage patterns

Earliest report in our feed set (publisher timestamps): PBS NewsHour, Sep 28, 20:23 UTC.

Lean	Outlets	Articles	Who
Left	6	11	Guardian, New York Times, The Daily Beast, Washington Post, cbsnews.com, nbcnews.com
Center	3	6	Al Jazeera English, The Hill, yahoo.com
Right	1	4	Washington Examiner
Unclassified	3	5	PBS NewsHour, ms.now, washingtonexaminer.com

Report-by-report timeline · 26

Sep 28 20:23 PBS NewsHour Jack Smith Testifies Before Senate Judiciary Committee Regarding Trump Investigations Sep 28 23:59 New York Times Second Prosecutor Resigns from Trump’s Conspiracy Case Sep 28 23:59 New York Times Second Prosecutor Resigns from Trump’s Conspiracy Case Sep 29 01:44 Washington Post Kurt Olsen resigns from DOJ investigation into Trump associates Sep 29 09:30 New York Times Jack Smith to Testify Before Congress Amid Calls for Prosecution Sep 29 09:30 New York Times Jack Smith to Testify Before Congress Amid Calls for Prosecution Sep 29 09:31 The Daily Beast Kurt Olsen Resigns from Florida Investigation into Alleged Anti-Trump Conspiracy Sep 29 10:00 Washington Examiner Jack Smith to Testify Before Senate Judiciary Committee Amid Republican Scrutiny Sep 29 16:40 cbsnews.com Jack Smith Testifies Before Senate Judiciary Committee on Trump Probes Sep 29 17:23 The Hill Jack Smith Testifies Before Senate Judiciary Committee Regarding Trump Investigation Sep 29 17:31 Washington Examiner Grassley claims Smith subpoenaed nearly 5,000 checks from Trump donors in Arctic Frost investigation Sep 29 17:48 Guardian Jack Smith indicates Lindsey Graham could have been a witness in Trump case Sep 29 18:03 PBS NewsHour Senator Questions Jack Smith About Attendance at NBA Game Sep 29 18:40 yahoo.com Jack Smith Addresses Rule of Law Challenges During Congressional Hearing Sep 29 19:11 Guardian Republican Senators Question Former Special Counsel Jack Smith at Senate Hearing Sep 29 19:34 The Hill Klobuchar Critiques Schmitt for Confusing Sports Teams Sep 29 19:36 The Hill Jack Smith Testifies Before Senate Judiciary Committee on Trump Investigation Sep 29 20:01 The Hill Jack Smith Testifies Before Senate Judiciary Committee Amid Republican Criticism Sep 29 22:27 Washington Examiner Jack Smith Collected Journalists' Private Messages in Arctic Frost Investigation, Whistleblower Claims Sep 29 22:40 nbcnews.com Jack Smith Testifies Before Senate Judiciary Committee on Trump Investigation Sep 29 22:40 washingtonexaminer.com Jack Smith Testifies on Subpoenas for Republican Lawmakers' Records Sep 29 22:50 PBS NewsHour Jack Smith Testifies Before Senate on Investigations of Trump Sep 29 23:28 Al Jazeera English Jack Smith Defends Investigations into Trump During Senate Hearing Sep 30 00:40 nbcnews.com Senator Eric Schmitt Accuses Jack Smith of Perjury Over Basketball Game Mix-Up Sep 30 01:46 Washington Examiner Senator Eric Schmitt Defends Comments Made During Hearing with Jack Smith Oct 01 00:40 ms.now Senator Eric Schmitt Faces Scrutiny Over Unvetted Texts Related to Jack Smith

Coverage patterns reflect only the ~50 feeds Pure Report ingests — not the full media universe. Timestamps are publisher-reported. Lean labels are Pure Report's classification. Articles are grouped by automated clustering, and counts include syndicated wire copies.