On the heels of an interview in which he gave a full-throated defense of his thwarted Jan. 6 and Mar-a-Lago probes of President Donald Trump , ex-special counsel Jack Smith told Congress that he used "entirely proper, lawful" means that were no different from methods used during the classified documents investigation of former President Joe Biden.

Starting three weeks ago, pro-Trump media and various lawmakers, perhaps most prominently Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., led a campaign alleging that Smith had tapped the phones of eight U.S. senators and a member of the House as part of his Jan. 6 investigation, casting it as a new revelation and likening "Arctic Frost" to Watergate or worse .

Calls for Smith to testify before Congress ensued; answers were demanded.

At the time, cooler heads noted

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