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On January 5, 2021, J.P. Cooney wrote that he advocated repealing the Speech or Debate Clause, according to the Washington Examiner, which reported obtaining a copy of the message. Cooney later became Jack Smith’s principal deputy prosecutor. The message has drawn attention during congressional scrutiny of Smith’s investigation, but it does not by itself establish how the team handled congressional records or whether anyone violated the Constitution.
What Cooney reportedly wrote
The Washington Examiner reported that Cooney’s message said: “I’m an advocate for repealing the clause but absent that, we’re stuck with it and the way it’s been interpreted.” The clause he meant is the Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause, a protection for legislative speech and activity.
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The report identifies Cooney as a prosecutor who became Jack Smith’s principal deputy prosecutor nearly two years after the message. The chronology is relevant, but Cooney’s reported view in 2021 is not evidence on its own of what Smith’s team later did with records.
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At a Senate Judiciary Committee oversight hearing, Chairman Chuck Grassley raised the clause while questioning Smith about instructions to staff concerning Speech or Debate protections and attorney-client material. In his opening remarks, Grassley alleged that Smith’s team obtained congressional toll records and message content, and that officials had been warned about Speech or Debate concerns.
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Grassley also quoted Cooney’s reported words, saying Cooney had said he was “an advocate for repealing the clause.” These are Grassley’s assertions and characterization at a hearing, not a court’s findings about the records or the legality of the investigation.
How Smith responded
Smith said his team took its obligations seriously, had staff familiar with the clause, and consulted the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section when appropriate or required. He described the provision as important to separation of powers, saying: “So, with respect to the Speech or Debate clause, first, we took our obligations seriously under the Speech or Debate clause. It’s, in my view, an important part of the separation of powers,”
Smith’s answer describes his team’s stated safeguards. It does not, by itself, resolve Grassley’s specific allegations about what records were obtained or how they were handled.
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Has a violation been established?
The statements and reporting cited here do not establish a judicial finding that Smith or his team violated the Speech or Debate Clause. The available accounts present Grassley’s allegations and Smith’s response, alongside reporting about Cooney’s earlier message; they do not provide an adjudication resolving the legal dispute.
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