Former special counsel Jack Smith’s legal team acknowledged that media reports were a key factor behind his 2023 decision to subpoena the phone records of nine Republican lawmakers , a revelation that could add new fuel to GOP accusations of political targeting.

Smith’s attorneys, Lanny Breuer and Peter Koski, defended the subpoenas as “entirely proper, lawful, and consistent with established Department of Justice policy,” according to a letter they sent Tuesday to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA). The letter follows a referral to the Justice Department sent by Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) last week that urged the Office of Professional Responsibility to investigate Smith and consider his disbarment in two states.

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