Hold onto your hats, folks -- former special counsel Jack Smith is doubling down on his decision to dig into the phone records of Republican lawmakers, claiming it’s all above board in his probe of former President Donald Trump’s actions surrounding the 2020 election, as Fox News reports.

In a nutshell, Smith’s 2023 subpoenas targeted toll records of eight senators and one House member, focusing on communications around the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol unrest, while sparking a firestorm among conservatives who smell political bias.

Let’s rewind to the heart of this drama: Smith, tasked with investigating Trump’s alleged efforts to challenge the 2020 election results, went after phone data -- specifically toll records that show call timing and recipients, not content -- from Jan. 4 to Jan. 7, 2021.

Smith’s defense of subpoenas emerges

His legal team insists the subpoenas were “narrowly tailored” and limited in scope, zeroing in on that critical window around the Capitol unrest.

Smith’s lawyers, in a letter obtained by Fox News Digital, called the move “entirely proper,” arguing it aligns with Justice Department policy and isn’t some rogue witch hunt.

“Entirely proper”? That’s a bold claim when you’ve got GOP heavyweights like Sens. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Josh Hawley of Missouri, and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina caught in the crosshairs, feeling more like targets than public servants.

GOP lawmakers cry foul

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) blew the whistle on this, alleging that only Republicans were singled out for this digital snooping.

Grassley took to X, stating, “only REPUBLICANS were targeted SMELLS LIKE POLITICS,” and vowed to keep digging into the FBI’s Arctic Frost investigation that fueled Smith’s case against Trump.

Smells like politics, indeed -- when Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas revealed to Fox News’ Sean Hannity that Smith tried to snag his records too, only to be rebuffed by AT&T, it’s hard not to raise an eyebrow at the selective net being cast.

Historical context of subpoenas

Smith’s camp counters that subpoenaing phone records isn’t new or unique -- past investigations, such as  Robert Hur’s look into President Joe Biden’s classified documents or the DOJ’s actions against former Sen. Robert Menendez, a Democrat convicted of corruption, have done the same.

Even during Trump’s administration, the DOJ grabbed records from Democrats such as Reps. Eric Swalwell and Adam Schiff of California in a leak probe, showing this tool isn’t party-specific.

Yet, when former DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz warns that such subpoenas risk “chilling Congress’s ability to conduct oversight of the executive branch,” it’s a reminder that even standard procedures can have a chilling effect on legislative freedom.

Accusations of concealment denied

Smith’s lawyers also pushed back against claims by FBI Director Kash Patel that the subpoenas were hidden, noting the records were shared in discovery with Trump’s personal legal team -- some of whom now hold senior DOJ roles.

Grassley hasn’t directly contacted Smith, per the legal team, but Republicans aren’t backing down, with some likening the Arctic Frost probe to the Watergate scandal for its perceived overreach.

While Smith eventually charged Trump with four felonies tied to election interference, only to drop them later under DOJ policy, the lingering question remains: when does “standard procedure” cross into political vendetta? For conservatives weary of progressive overreach in government, this saga is less about phone logs and more about trust -- or the glaring lack of it -- in our institutions.