Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., on Tuesday excoriated Republicans for waiting a year to bring former special counsel Jack Smith to testify before Congress, despite his own offer to appear.

Smith was appointed in late 2022 to pursue the investigation into President Donald Trump's alleged mishandling of classified documents. While he ultimately brought charges against Trump, his case stalled in the courts and was shut down after Trump was elected in 2024.

"Republicans have spent months spreading baseless conspiracy theories about Mr. Smith's investigation," Durbin said during his opening statement. "Instead of hearing from him directly, nearly a year ago, Mr. Smith volunteered to testify under oath before this committee."

"We Democrats joined in that offer, saying, 'Let's get to the bottom of it, put him under oath and let's ask questions.' And then almost a year passed. House Republicans called Mr. Smith to testify in January, but Senate Republicans refused his offer to testify," he went on. "Instead, held eight hearings on his supposed wrongdoing, never calling him directly."

Durbin's remarks came during his opening statement of a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing featuring Smith's own testimony. He also recounted Jan. 6, 2021 and contended that Smith's investigation into the matter was legitimate.

"After years of whitewashing President Trump's crimes, my Republican colleagues can finally raise their concerns with the one person who can address them," he concluded. "Maybe this will finally free the committee from the endless, endless debate and base on baseless conspiracy theories, and allow us to address real problems affecting the American people."

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent for Just the News. Follow him on X.