Former special counsel Jack Smith testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, defending his investigation into Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

“I stand by my decisions,” Smith told the panel, according to reports, as he faced hours of questioning about the “Arctic Frost” probe that led to Trump’s indictment.

Committee chairman Chuck Grassley alleged that Smith’s team obtained text messages of nearly 50 journalists from outlets including Fox News, CNN, CBS, NBC, CNBC, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, Bloomberg, the Associated Press, Reuters and NPR. Grassley said the communications were swept up in a June 2023 subpoena for texts from phones of first Trump administration officials.

The chairman also claimed the subpoena listed at least 87 White House phone numbers and captured messages between White House officials and 44 lawmakers from both parties between October 2020 and January 2021, along with financial information of thousands of Americans.

Grassley accused Smith of “rampant abuse of authority” and political targeting. Senate Democrats, including Dick Durbin, countered that Smith deserved a fair hearing to present his account. Smith answered questions for several hours on the investigation.