Former special prosecutor Jack Smith set to appear for contentious Capitol Hill hearing
On Capitol Hill today, former special prosecutor Jack Smith will face questions from lawmakers on the Senate judiciary committee at 9am ET.
It’s set to be a showdown after many Republicans have publicly slammed Smith – who led the criminal investigation into Donald Trump’s actions ahead of the January 6 insurrection in 2021, efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the president’s alleged mishandling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort. A number of GOP lawmakers have sought to investigate Smith’s move to collect call toll records and messages of Republican members of Congress as part of his investigations.
Many on today’s panel – particularly the chair – Chuck Grassley – are expected to grill Smith after accusing him for years of politically motivated scrutiny, and acting on behalf of a “weaponized” justice department under Joe Biden.
Key events
Grassley accuses former special counsel Jack Smith of targeting ‘entire Republican party’ throughout investigations
Chuck Grassley – the Republican chair of the Senate judiciary committee – is delivering his opening remarks now.
The senator from Iowa alleges that while Smith has claimed his focus was on the January 6 Capitol riots, the former special counsel’s “own conduct contradicts that assertion”.
“When his team subpoenaed records, sometimes the date ranges extended weeks, months, or years before and after January 6,” Grassley said, adding that Smith subpoenaed and obtained information on Republican groups as early as 2019 and as late as 2023.
“You see, that’s what you must do if your case is designed to map out and target the entire Republican Party,” Grassley added.
It’s worth noting that when it comes to the investigation into Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election, Smith legally obtained phone toll records – which were obtained through a grand jury. These records show the date, time, and duration of calls, but not the actual content of the communications.
These are often secured by prosecutors in connection with investigations.
For some context, it’s worth remembering that Smith had a two-volume report of his findings as a result of his criminal investigations – that resulted in two indictments against the president after his first term. The first focused on Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election, while the second on the president’s retention of classified documents.
However, in February, a Trump-appointed federal judge permanently barred the justice department from releasing the second volume of Smith’s report.
Aileen Cannon condemned Smith for what she called a “brazen stratagem” of compiling a report even after she had dismissed the case on grounds that he was unlawfully appointed to his role.
Ahead of Jack Smith’s testimony before lawmakers on the Senate judiciary committee today, the former special prosecutor plans to say that his investigations yielded “proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in criminal activity. If asked whether to prosecute a former President based on the same facts today, I would do so regardless of whether that President was a Republican or a Democrat”, according to a copy of Smith’s opening remarks obtained by MS Now.
Former special prosecutor Jack Smith set to appear for contentious Capitol Hill hearing
On Capitol Hill today, former special prosecutor Jack Smith will face questions from lawmakers on the Senate judiciary committee at 9am ET.
It’s set to be a showdown after many Republicans have publicly slammed Smith – who led the criminal investigation into Donald Trump’s actions ahead of the January 6 insurrection in 2021, efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the president’s alleged mishandling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort. A number of GOP lawmakers have sought to investigate Smith’s move to collect call toll records and messages of Republican members of Congress as part of his investigations.
Many on today’s panel – particularly the chair – Chuck Grassley – are expected to grill Smith after accusing him for years of politically motivated scrutiny, and acting on behalf of a “weaponized” justice department under Joe Biden.
Donald Trump is in Washington today. We’ll hear from the president at 10am ET when he unveils a new AI tool that is designed to make it easier to access information from the federal government. Following this, the president will welcome several AI company CEOs to the White House for a meeting, alongside Republican House speaker Mike Johnson.
A reminder that Trump and many members of his party – including Johnson – have dismissed the idea of guardrails on AI development for fear of losing ground to China.
We’ll bring you the latest lines as we hear from the president later.
Cuba’s top trade official dismissed reports that companies linked to US president Donald Trump had come to Cuba this year to talk business, while calling the US trade embargo the biggest impediment to the roll-out of historic free-market reforms.
Cuban foreign trade and deputy prime minister Oscar Perez-Oliva Fraga said neither he nor any other Cuban official had met with representatives from Trump-tied businesses.
“I have no knowledge of any company directly linked to president Trump having made contact with Cuba,” Perez-Oliva told Reuters.
News organizations ask court to bar White House enforcement of access ban until case is resolved
Three news outlets that Donald Trump banned from White House have asked a federal court to extend his block until the case is resolved.
The media organizations say the administration has “persisted in unpredictably and inconsistently implementing its ban” despite a judge’s restraining order – including selectively barring CNN from White House pool duties.
“The White House’s words and actions leave little doubt that it will immediately reinstitute a complete ban of CNN, MS Now, and POLITICO if allowed the opportunity,” lawyers for CNN, MS Now and Politico wrote in a filing late on Monday.
“Because the ban is an unlawful assault on the most fundamental First Amendment freedoms and will inflict irreparable harm on Plaintiffs and the public if not restrained, this Court should preliminarily enjoin its enforcement pending the resolution of this case,” the filing said.
A two-week temporary restraining order on Trump’s ban of the three organizations, issued by US district judge Timothy Kelly last week, restored the outlets’ White House access, but expires on 8 October.
The preliminary injunction requested in Monday’s filing would extend the White House access until the case is finally resolved.
Former Trump prosecutor Jack Smith faces Senate hearing over ‘abuse of authority’ accusations
Former US special counsel Jack Smith will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, fielding questions about his past investigations into president Donald Trump as the Justice Department ramps up scrutiny of his work.
Republican lawmakers, who have repeatedly blasted Smith for what they see as vindictive, politically driven prosecutions of Trump and his allies, will likely allege Smith abused his authority and targeted conservatives in his investigations.
“Jack Smith must answer for what he did to hundreds of Republican groups and individuals,” Judiciary chair Chuck Grassley said in a statement.
Smith plans to tell senators that he stands by his prosecutions of Trump and will accuse the Trump administration of vilifying him and former members of his team, according to a copy of his opening statement seen by Reuters.
“I will not be silenced by the continued threats of prosecution from the president or others,” Smith plans to tell lawmakers.
Democrats will likely defend Smith’s investigations as holding Trump and others accountable for unlawful actions and argue Republicans are the ones trying to carry out vindictive justice on behalf of Trump.
Smith, who brought two criminal cases against Trump over his alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election and his alleged mishandling of classified documents after his first term, has defended his record. In court filings and public testimony, Smith has said his investigations followed Justice Department policy and were not influenced by politics. He has been the constant target of Trump, who has called for Smith’s prosecution.
Trump to host Zuckerberg and Amodei for AI talks later today
Donald Trump will host a meeting today with House speaker Mike Johnson and tech executives like Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Anthropic’s Dario Amodei to discuss AI, as calls ramp up for more regulation of the fast-developing technology.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and OpenAI president Greg Brockman are also expected to attend, separate sources familiar with the planning told Reuters.
The gathering will focus on finding a balance between innovation and oversight, Republican Johnson said on Monday, as concerns about rogue AI agents’ potential to harm humans have seeped into the public consciousness, boosting calls for regulation.
Trump has called the fears of AI’s threat to humanity a “hoax.“
Trump to speak at America’s ‘golden age’ event
Donald Trump will give a speech as part of an event celebrating America’s ‘golden age’ at 10am EDT.
The president is set to discuss a new tool, America.gov, which is aimed at improving citizens’ access to federal government services.
Other participants are expected to include SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, US secretary of state Marco Rubio, energy secretary Chris Wright, Nasa administrator Jared Isaacman and former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
The event takes place on the same day that Trump meets at the White House with House speaker Mike Johnson and artificial intelligence leaders.
Trump denies offering Iran sanctions relief for nuclear concessions
Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog.
President Donald Trump said he has offered Iran nothing to end the war, rejecting media reports that cited US officials saying he was willing to ease sanctions and release frozen funds for “concrete” steps regarding Iran’s nuclear program.
“This is untrue. I offered them NOTHING,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday.
Axios and CNN both reported, citing unidentified US officials, that Trump was willing to give Iran sanctions relief and free Iranian funds as part of a final deal on the condition that Iran showed “concrete progress” on the nuclear issue.
It comes as Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Trump was a “big liar”, citing the president’s statements on nuclear weapons and other issues.
“The enemy (US) knows that Iran is not after nuclear weapons,” spokesperson Hossein Mohebbi said. “Their issue with Iran is not its nuclear programme but rather its vastness, which they want to destroy.“
Trump has cited preventing Tehran from acquiring a nuclear bomb as a key goal of the war, along with ending its ability to attack its neighbours and creating conditions for Iranians to topple their leadership. Iran does not have nuclear weapons and denies it wants to develop them, but argues it has the right to a domestic nuclear energy capacity.
Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian, in an interview with the CBS show Face the Nation, said Tehran was ready for talks on its nuclear program and other issues, but would not accept “bullying or coercion”.
“Iran is not seeking war, but will defend itself against pressure, threats and attacks,” Pezeshkian said, adding that it had already agreed that “we’re not supposed to develop nuclear weapons”.
US and Iranian officials spoke separately with mediators on Monday as part of a renewed effort to end the seven-month war, according to officials of both countries.
In other developments:
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Anthropic will caution investors that artificial intelligence could pose “catastrophic or existential risks to humanity” in its IPO prospectus. As Anthropic prepares for an IPO listing, which could value the AI company at a monumental $2tn, it dedicated almost a third of its prospectus to discussing concerns around AI safety. The news comes as OpenAI has halted the release of its next AI model over safety concerns, the Wall Street Journal reports.
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Trump will be on the campaign trail this week – hosting rallies in Durant, Oklahoma, on Thursday, Mobile, Alabama, on Friday and Vandalia, Ohio, on Saturday. The first two states are GOP strongholds, and Trump has pushed voters to turn out to the polls and pretend the president was at the top of the ballot this midterm cycle.
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Pete Hegseth ordered the defense department to “protect and uphold the reliability of America’s voting mechanisms against external manipulation and disruption from foreign actors” in a 22 September memo. Hegseth’s order comes as concerns about artificial intelligence are on the rise, but also as the Trump administration has spread misinformation about voter fraud. In July, Trump accused China of interfering in the 2020 election, which he lost.
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Andrew Bailey said he is stepping down as one of the FBI’s two deputy directors after just over a year in the role – a short tenure that unfolded as he helped oversee several of Trump’s election‑related investigations. Bailey was appointed in August 2025 to serve alongside Dan Bongino at a moment of sharp tension between the FBI and justice department leadership over the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
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Pope Leo addressed concerns about artificial intelligence and the war in Ukraine during a press conference onboard the papal plane today. Saying that concerns about AI are not “fake news”, the first US pope appeared to criticize Trump, who called concerns about AI a “hoax” during a UN address last week.
