Jamie Raskin

a number of Democratic senators, we would have gotten toll records for them too.

I trust our colleagues get the point because America certainly gets the point.

There is much Mr. Smith still can't talk about, though we know he badly wants to.

His investigation developed what he calls powerful evidence that Trump stole documents containing our country's most sensitive secrets, hoarded them in the ballrooms and the bathrooms of his well-trafficked Mar-a-Lago social club.

He showed them off to visitors, and then he obstructed a federal investigation by instructing his attorney to pluck out anything really bad before turning materials over to the FBI

and having his staff delete incriminating security tape footage.

But today, and we're not going to hear a lot about that,

because you are gagged by an absurd judicial order rendered faithfully by Trump's most servile and sycophantic appointee to the federal bench, Judge Eileen Cannon.

This order not only blocks release of volume two of your report, which is unprecedented, about the classified document scam, it also gags you from discussing the report or its contents with us, with America.

And so we don't know what's in it, but it must be pretty devastating because Donald Trump is desperate to keep Mr. Smith or any other DOJ official for all time from ever releasing it to Congress and to the American people.

Now, Mr. Smith, if any of our colleagues foolishly choose to attack you and vilify you today, and I know that's not going to happen from some serious prosecutors over there like Mr. Knott and Mr. Schmidt,

who understand what federal prosecutors do and what the rule of law means.

But if anybody decides to attack you personally, they will only be revealing their own ignorance of what prosecutors do and their own indifference to what the rule of law requires in America.

They will only be stroking the wounded ego of a lawless, twice-impeached, convicted felon president who not only unleashed a mob against Congress and his own vice president, but has now pardoned and released into our communities hundreds of extremists, insurrectionists, and cop-beating felons who have proceeded to commit dozens more crimes against the American people since they were pardoned.

Mr. Smith.

I understand you are a long-distance marathon runner.

I read that you're a triathlete who's done more than 100 triathlons and nine Ironman competitions.

You are in the fight for justice and the rule of law for the long distance, for the long haul.

And I thank you for that.

And we should all try to follow your example.