Welcome to the latest edition of True Romance. It's the first Thursday of August and the Hall of Fame game takes place later today.

If that doesn't sound romantic to you, seek medical attention. I know it's not going to be a great game, but it's more about what the game represents.

Football is back, and we're still in the beginning stages of the season. The butterflies are there, and we haven’t been crushed by the team we love yet.

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It's a lot like a relationship. We haven’t reached that point where the butterflies are long gone, and we can't stand to be around one another but keep powering through for the kids. We'll get there.

Speaking of love and football, last week I congratulated Justin Herbert and Madison Beer on their engagement. Finally, a real love story in the NFL between a singer and a star player.

That was before the developments this week at Chargers training camp. I'm talking, of course, about the lack of focus on display by Herbert. He's not locked in. He's on the field after practice with his fiancée.

I get it. As a hopeless romantic, it pains me to say this, but the franchise quarterback can't look like he's part of a teenage couple at a summer job. Do this stuff away from the field.

NOTHING TO SEE HERE: COWBOYS QUARTERBACK DAK PRESCOTT AND HIS EX'S BRIDESMAID ARE JUST FRIENDS

Hit up an IKEA showroom bed if you want. Just like a couple, we'll get to in a second, but there's enough romance in football itself that there isn't a need to bring your significant other to work.

Let's get to less disappointing couples, shall we?

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As promised, we're going to take a closer look at the couple who apparently decided that they needed to take an IKEA showroom bed for a test drive. An obvious case of letting romance get away from them.

The couple took their shoes off, got on the bed, and according to the Daily Star, were caught on camera as they "explored each other's bodies."

The two, who turned the showroom at the IKEA location in Taiwan into a different kind of showroom, "seemed completely lost in the moment," witnesses said.

The video taken by an understandably upset mom went viral on social media. She had no sympathy for the two who allowed romance to get the best of them on a showroom bed.

She did, however, have some solid advice to pass along to them. She wrote, "Go home, get in the car, or rent a room."

If only they had that advice ahead of time. Even a sign, one serving as a reminder, something to say, "Hey, this is a bed, but you're not in a home. Keep everything packed away until you get home, get in a car, or are able to rent a room."

The couple, while there reportedly hasn't been an official statement from IKEA or the local police, could find themselves in hot water under Taiwan's public indecency law.

Punishments of up to a year in prison or a fine could be heading their way. Even if that isn’t the case, we can always hope that a lesson is learned from this.

The lesson, others before them have had to learn, is about conducting such intimate business in much more private settings. It could be difficult for some to understand, but not everyone wants to watch you bump uglies.

Grab a sheet or get under the covers. Something.

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From one inappropriate setting for intimate business to another. School bus drivers in one Georgia county are under investigation for having sex while on the clock again.

Channel 2 Action News reports that Gwinnett County Public Schools has reopened an investigation after a school bus driver admitted under oath to having sex on a school bus with another bus driver.

Several other bus drivers for the county were aware of the allegations made against their coworkers and told the outlet that district officials were provided with "stone-cold evidence."

The allegations were initially investigated by the district in 2025. That investigation, according to Gwinnett County Public Schools, didn't find any of this so-called stone-cold evidence.

They said in a statement, "no evidence was found to substantiate the claims." Channel 2 was able to find some.

They obtained an audio recording allegedly of a female driver who said she met a man during work hours in a church parking lot. They positioned their buses so they would avoid being seen on their cameras.

If you take away the setting and boil it all down, it is a little romantic. They're putting in a lot of effort to spend time with one another. Effort that you don't always find with couples who aren't meeting up on the clock.

The male bus driver's testimony under oath confirmed that he was doing more than driving a bus on the clock. An attorney asked, "Some of the sexual acts actually took place at the workplace on the bus, correct?"

He, according to the local outlet, responded, "Yes."

Again, I don’t want to discourage romance. That's the last thing I want to do, but you can't drive off a cliff because the navigation told you to turn right.

You have to allow romance to lead you. We all know that. You also have to avoid those turns right off a cliff. Romance can be tricky.

How about secret kids and "surprise gifts?" There's that and there's bizarre eating and grooming habits.

If you had to pick, you may go with something more in the eating and grooming habits category. But those darkest secrets aren't any fun.

Let's have mistresses you don't know about until the divorce proceedings and cheating with his brother's girlfriends. Those are entertaining.

All that and more from the folks on Reddit who enjoy oversharing:

- not likely to love again writes:

I was married for 38 years. To my knowledge, quite happily. She is 11 years my junior. Right after my 70th birthday she dumped me like last night's meatloaf.

Turns out, she was knocked up as an underage teen by a married man. Her first "love." They decided to abort the result. She married him one year after throwing out our entire family (two grown kids).

Now, at 81, my only goal left in life is to out live her, so I can deficate on her grave.

Signed...not likely to love again.

SeanJo

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Romance is messy sometimes. If "not likely to love again" has his way, it will get a little messier before all is said and done. Best of luck to you.

- Anonymous writes:

Sean,

Ran across this lady on Instagram this week. She's hilarious. Even my wife thinks so.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Dal0702B2o8/

SeanJo

The instagram post wasn't embeddable, but she is funny and who doesn't want to hear about blue collar men flirting?

-------------

That's it for this week. I know the song isn't a perfect fit this week, but it will do. Keep the song of the week suggestions coming. You can reach me, anonymously if you prefer, at sean.joseph@outkick.com.

Barry Manilow canceled his Kentucky show on Tuesday just 45 minutes before it was scheduled to start.

"Due to unforeseen circumstances tonight’s show in Lexington has been rescheduled," Manilow, who was diagnosed with lung cancer last year, wrote on X ahead of the concert. No other explanation was given.

While some slammed Manilow as "disrespectful" for the late cancellation, others were quick to offer him words of encouragement.

BARRY MANILOW, 82, GIVES UPDATE ON HIS CANCER BATTLE AS HE CANCELS MORE TOUR DATES

"Sending hugs x take care and remember you must come first," one user wrote on X.

"I'm so sorry you've had to reschedule tonight's show," another added. "Please look after yourself Barry, sending much love and healing energy from across the pond."

In December, Manilow revealed he had been diagnosed with early-stage lung cancer after doctors discovered a cancerous spot on his left lung following a bout of bronchitis.

"As many of you know I recently went through six weeks of bronchitis followed by a relapse of another five weeks," Manilow wrote on Instagram at the time. "Even though I was over the bronchitis and back on stage at the Westgate Las Vegas, my wonderful doctor ordered an MRI just to make sure that everything was OK. The MRI discovered a cancerous spot on my left lung that needs to be removed. It's pure luck (and a great doctor) that it was found so early. That's the good news."

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"The bad news is that now that the Christmas A Gift of Love concerts are over I'm going into surgery to have the spot removed," he continued. "The doctors do not believe it has spread and I'm taking tests to confirm the diagnosis. So, that's it. No chemo. No radiation. Just chicken soup and I Love Lucy reruns."

In February, Manilow announced he was rescheduling additional February and March dates on the tour after a "very depressing visit" with his surgeon.

That same month, the "Copacabana" singer detailed a tough conversation he had with his doctor.

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"He said, ‘Barry, you won’t be ready to do a 90-minute show. Your lungs aren’t ready yet,’" Manilow continued.

"You’re in great shape considering what you’ve been through, but your body isn’t ready. You shouldn’t do the first arena shows. You won’t make it through."

Manilow continued, "I had a feeling he’d say that. Deep down… my body knew what my heart didn’t want to admit: I wasn’t ready... When I do come back, I will COME BACK!!!"

In May, Manilow announced that while he had to cancel his "Hits Come Home" residency dates that month at Westgate Resort in Las Vegas, he's "making great progress" with his lung cancer treatment and plans to return to the stage sooner rather than later.

"Good news! I went to the doctor yesterday and he said I’m making great progress and look great! Well of course I do! Thank you very much!" he wrote on X. "All the training and exercising I’ve put in is paying off."

"He did say, however, that I’m not quite ready for Vegas. That means I won’t be able to return for our May shows at @WestgateVegas. But the good news is he said I will be ready for my June arena shows in the UK. It’s going to be great to see you all in the UK. Westgate Las Vegas is my home away from home… and I’ll see you all in July. In the meantime… come to the UK! We’ll be there in June and hope you will be too! See you then… Barry."

Fox News Digital's Ashley Hume contributed to this post.

French trans basketball player Julie Tétart is waiting for a call from one of the inclusive WNBA teams who needs a 6'3 scoring and rebounding machine.

During the 2025-26 season for a club team in Monaco, Tétart dominated the second-tier French women's basketball Ligue 2 by dropping 21 points per game while grabbing 20 rebounds. The biological male, who came out as trans in October 2021, led the league in both categories. It was as season unlike any the Ligue 2 had ever seen.

With those numbers, the WNBA should be knocking down Tétart's door, right?

SOPHIE CUNNINGHAM SPEAKS OUT TO PROTECT GIRLS AS WNBA ALL-STAR INITIATIVE BACKS ‘GENDER-EXPANSIVE’ GROUP

"If they contact me, I won't say no. But you have to be realistic: I'm old, and there are far better players than me!" the overly humble 34-year-old Tétart told OutKick in French over Instagram direct messages on Monday.

Far better? Are you sure?

Tétart's season was so dominant that French media was stunned when the shredded center didn't win league MVP honors. The season was still good enough to win Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Domestic Player of the Year.

Woke WNBA fans swear there's no clear and present trans danger to biological women. They swear this is some sort of delusion cooked up by MAGA.

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Meanwhile, Tétart destroyed Ligue 2 so badly that there were collusion allegations being made against league captains and coaches who voted on the MVP award.

Those same voters are alleged to have excluded 43-year-old trans player Aurore Pautou (14.4 PPG, 7.7 RPG) from winning postseason awards. French trans groups are furious. "Despite top-tier athletic performance on the court during the 2025/2026 season by Julie and Aurore, voters for the Ligue 2 Féminine de Basket Awards deliberately decided not to grant them any awards," activist group TRANSpire cried on Instagram.

Former WNBA player Audrey Sauret, who's French, spoke out in April after the MVP drama and sounded a warning to leagues around the world as to what's coming if they don't protect biological females.

"Ligue 2 serves as a kind of testing ground, to introduce trendy ideas, but by allowing them to participate in professional competitions, we create unfair competition, especially for younger players," Sauret wrote. "This can close doors and discourage aspiring athletes. This situation risks becoming commonplace, even if it’s regulated. Men and women aren’t built the same way. Changing hormones doesn’t erase gender differences. I regret that this issue wasn’t addressed much sooner."

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During a March game that should've been a trans showdown, Tétart had 21 points and 30 rebounds, which was a new league record, breaking the previous record of 25 rebounds (Tétart held that record, as well), but Pautou didn't play.

The question we had for Tétart was simple: Would you ever consider trying out for the inclusive WNBA? The trans scoring and rebounding machine seemed confused at first before realizing we were 100% serious.

"Obviously, it's a childhood dream just like for any female basketball player, but unfortunately, it's not possible," the French native wrote back.

Wait a minute, why not? The WNBA is inclusive. What are we missing here?

WNBA COMMISSIONER VOWS TO CRACK DOWN ON 'RACISM, MISOGYNY,' DODGES BIG QUESTIONS AT ALL-STAR PRESS CONFERENCE

"The league, yes. The country, no, haha," Tétart fired back while hinting at some sort of problem with Donald Trump's presidency.

When pressed on what would need to change politically in the U.S., Tétart stopped playing games with me, finally admitting that if a WNBA call came, it would be time to talk business: "I won't say no."

As for Sophie Cunningham's stance that biological males need to stay out of women's sports, I gave Tétart a chance to respond. "Aucun," the French stat stuffer replied.

Translation: "None."

Imagine a Tétart vs. Cunningham matchup in 2027. It's time for the WNBA to once and for all prove just how inclusive it is. Tétart's DMs are wide open.

Netflix has replaced Kay Adams with former ESPN host Elle Duncan as its lead NFL studio host for the upcoming season.

On Monday, the streamer announced its studio team for the Week 1 broadcast on Sept. 10, when it will exclusively stream the 49ers vs. Rams from Melbourne, Australia. Duncan will host alongside desk analysts Michael Irvin, Nick Foles, and Clay Matthews.

While Netflix signed Duncan earlier this year to be the face of its sports division, there was at least some question about whether she'd also take over NFL hosting responsibilities, a role Adams held the past two seasons.

The decision is also questionable.

Kay Adams is a fan favorite and one of the best NFL hosts in the industry. If a network with NFL rights were building for the future, it'd likely rank Adams second only to ESPN's Laura Rutledge as its ideal lead host.

By contrast, Duncan is a toxic figure. She is best known at ESPN for reportedly convincing executives that Sage Steele was "not black enough" to participate in a social justice special, protesting Florida's "Don't Say Gay" law live on ESPN, and encouraging fathers to support their daughters' abortions from the SportsCenter set.

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Last week, Duncan blamed Caitlin Clark and her fans for the ongoing turmoil surrounding the WNBA, just days after USA Today shamefully suggested Clark's on-court antics could lead to the lynching of Black people.

Duncan then criticized Clark for not telling fans not to "use her name" to spread hate, despite Clark doing exactly that.

"People should not be using my name to push those agendas. It's disappointing. It's not acceptable," Clark said in 2024. "Treating every single woman in this league with the same amount of respect, I think, it's just a basic human thing that everybody should do."

Notice Duncan hasn't called on Angel Reese to condemn those using her name to justify similar bigotry, namely the racially charged attacks directed at Clark and her fans.

Duncan is a bad-faith actress. She is dishonest. And her presence on Netflix inevitably politicizes the broadcast.

Netflix has already faced deserved criticism for its sports coverage, often turning live events into infomercials for its entertainment division.

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Longtime sports radio host Dan Patrick criticized the company's approach during the Home Run Derby last month.

"I'd like to think I'm at least socially aware of sporting events, but I had no idea," Patrick said. "And then all of a sudden, it's like Netflix, and then you had Will Ferrell show up, you had Bonds and Pujols, and I'm like, OK. They're trying. Netflix is trying, trying different things. Now, sometimes you can try too hard. Sometimes you can try to dress something up, and you really don't need to."

Adams, at least, kept the focus on football, a sport she has covered for years. Duncan has little connection to the leagues Netflix carries, namely the NFL and MLB.

Fans will already be annoyed that they need yet another streaming service to watch Week 1 of the NFL season. Wait until they finally log in and hear Duncan screeching, probably about the fact that the Rams-49ers game features two White quarterbacks and head coaches.

Yes, she is one of those.

Adams is a good football host. Replacing her with Duncan raises questions about how much merit and audience preference factor into Netflix's programming decisions.

We suspect not much.

Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve made her position clear Sunday afternoon.

Reeve wore a shirt reading "Trans Kids Belong" underneath her blazer while coaching against Sophie Cunningham's Indiana Fever at Target Center. There’s no reason to pretend the timing was coincidental.

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Reeve had already addressed the transgender-athlete debate before the game, saying she comes from "a space of inclusion," that "we need to protect trans kids" and that "every kid has a right to sports." Her comments came with another rally supporting Cunningham’s position taking place outside the arena before the Fever-Lynx matchup. Then, Reeve carried the message onto the sideline.

Of course, she has every right to wear the shirt. The Lynx have every right to support her. But it was also an unmistakable response to Cunningham, who has spent the past two weeks taking heavy criticism for saying girls and women shouldn’t have to compete against biological men or share locker rooms with them.

Why anyone feels the need to argue against Cunningham's common-sense take is another matter. But it's also important to note that Cunningham never said transgender kids don’t belong in sports, society or anywhere else. In fact, she said she had "never once" expressed hatred toward transgender people and argued that there is room for everyone. Her position was more specific: "I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men."

Reeve’s shirt collapsed that distinction into a progressive slogan.

By wearing "Trans Kids Belong" while coaching against Cunningham, Reeve implied that Cunningham’s position is about excluding transgender children entirely. It isn’t. Cunningham drew a line at participation in girls’ and women’s sports and access to female locker rooms.

That position is not only reasonable, but the position the majority of Americans hold.

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To Reeve’s credit, she acknowledged before the game that the issue becomes more complicated after puberty and when Olympic spots or scholarships are involved. She argued that people should find common ground rather than make exclusion the answer. That is a more nuanced argument than the shirt conveyed.

Still, Cunningham didn’t say trans kids don’t belong. So, Reeve answered the argument she wanted Cunningham to make rather than the one Cunningham actually made.

That would have been an obvious subject to ask Reeve about after the game. Fox News Digital and OutKick tried to be there to ask those questions, but the Lynx denied our credential request.

The request was submitted July 30 for an Aug. 2 game. The Lynx’s stated deadline was 5 p.m. on Aug. 1, meaning the application arrived more than two days before the game and well before the deadline. The denial didn’t cite timing, capacity or any other specific reason.

After I posted about the denial on social media, several WNBA reporters and fans celebrated it. Some argued that local beat writers should receive priority. Others suggested that outlets should only receive access if their reporters regularly attend practices and ask questions about basketball.

The first point is reasonable. Local reporters who cover a team every day should be prioritized.

But "prioritized" and "exclusively credentialed" aren’t the same thing. Fox News Digital and OutKick regularly cover the WNBA, and I was credentialed for both the 2026 NBA Finals and the 2026 Final Four despite not working as a full-time beat reporter for the NBA or college basketball.

So, are regular-season WNBA games really a more exclusive media credential than the NBA Finals or Final Four?

More importantly, the "stick to basketball" defense completely fell apart the moment Reeve walked onto the sideline wearing that shirt. If reporters are only supposed to ask about basketball, why is the head coach using a WNBA game to make a statement about one of the country’s most contentious social debates?

WNBA SUDDENLY WANTS TO STICK TO BASKETBALL AFTER YEARS OF MAKING POLITICS PART OF THE PRODUCT

Reeve didn’t wear a shirt about transition defense. She didn’t promote rebounding or ball movement. She used the sideline to send a message about transgender children while coaching against the player at the center of the league’s transgender-athlete controversy.

Again, that’s her right. But once she makes the statement during the game, questions about that statement become relevant to the game.

The Lynx were asked whether Reeve’s shirt was intended as a response to Cunningham’s comments and whether the organization approved or coordinated the decision and endorsed the message. The team didn’t respond before publication.

Perhaps Reeve would have said the shirt had nothing to do with Cunningham. That would be difficult to believe given the opponent, her comments before the game and the controversy surrounding the Fever’s road trip, but she deserved the opportunity to explain it.

We also deserved the opportunity to ask.

Instead, WNBA defenders celebrated a credential denial while insisting reporters should focus on basketball, then watched a head coach turn the sideline into a platform for a social message. The league and its teams routinely promote inclusion, open dialogue and the importance of athletes and coaches using their platforms. Those principles seem to become much less important when the questions might challenge the preferred position.

Reeve was free to wear the shirt. The Lynx were free to deny the credential. And WNBA reporters were free to cheer that decision.

But taken together, the message was clear: approved social statements belong on the sideline.

Uncomfortable questions don’t.

Soviet-born author and political analyst Michael Malice warned that America experienced what he described as a dangerous shift toward Soviet-style informant tactics during the pandemic, as citizens willingly turned in their neighbors for violating lockdown rules.

Speaking on the "Planet Tyrus" podcast, Malice argued that authoritarian regimes don't rely solely on military force, but on the participation of civilians as well.

"I think the first time Americans realized the nature of evil was during COVID. Because COVID was the first time we saw in this country, people were turning in their neighbors and were bragging about it," Malice said, adding, "They were happy: 'I got this cashier fired.' That was very Soviet."

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"So that was the first time I think Americans realized that these systems, which are dictatorial, it's not through force. It's the fact that small-minded people are tripping over themselves to implement these dictatorships and turn in their neighbors," he said.

Malice is the author of "The White Pill," a book about the rise and fall of the Soviet Union and the tactics used during that period. He compared the pandemic response to that of authoritarian regimes.

Criticism of the pandemic response has resurged in recent days after Dr. Anthony Fauci, who served as one of the nation's leading public health officials during the COVID-19 pandemic, appeared before Congress on Wednesday.

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Fauci repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and declined to answer questions.

Republican lawmakers and conservative commentators took to social media after the hearing to criticize the months-long shutdown, recounting arrests and threats against those who disobeyed lockdown orders.

"Dr. Fauci isn't the only guilty one," Rep. Lance Gooden wrote on X. "Democrats went as far as filling outdoor skate parks with sand to enforce their draconian COVID-19 lockdowns. Americans should never forget what they did."

In Fauci's opening statement, he defended his conduct during the pandemic, stating, "The only conclusion I can reach is that the sole reason he [Sen. Rand Paul] is calling me before this committee is to get me to say something, anything, that could vindicate his repeated public pledges that I end up, in his words, quote, ‘behind bars,’ unquote."

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Malice added that dictatorial control doesn't usually present itself as an obvious villain. Instead, he argued, it relies on petty bureaucrats and neighbor-against-neighbor enforcement.

"There's so many people who have that little bit of power, and they will hold onto it with every bit of fiber in their being," Malice told Tyrus, adding that he believes such enforcement by citizens is historically "alien to the American psyche."

Fox News Digital’s Pete D’Abrosca contributed to this report.

EXCLUSIVE: The Senate investigation into former Special Counsel Jack Smith's "Arctic Frost" probe is widening, as Republican lawmakers question Verizon’s handling of subpoenas for senators’ phone records after the telecom giant failed to disclose one during an earlier congressional records search.

As part of Operation Arctic Frost — the codename for the FBI's Trump-election-interference probe with Smith placed at the helm — prosecutors subpoenaed Verizon and other phone carriers for toll records tied to members of Congress and other Republican figures. Several conservative entities were swept up in the probe, including the late Charlie Kirk.

Verizon later acknowledged omitting Smith's subpoena from its congressional record search.

The dispute centers less on Verizon's compliance with the subpoena than on what the company knew afterward, whether it should have notified Congress and why it failed to disclose the subpoena during an earlier records search.

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Smith’s investigation has faced increased scrutiny in recent months, and now Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa — whose records were among those obtained — and a slew of his colleagues want to know what Verizon knew, when it knew it and whether the company should have notified affected members of Congress after turning over their phone records to Smith's team.

"Jack Smith oversaw a sweeping and unprecedented investigation that swept-up records from hundreds of Republican entities, including the phone toll records and text messages from myself and dozens of my colleagues," Grassley told Fox News Digital Friday.

Toll records are essentially the metadata of a telephone call — and exclude the contents of the conversation. They often include the phone numbers involved, date, time, duration and often the operative cell-tower location.

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"Congress deserves to know the full picture of how Smith carried out Arctic Frost so it never happens again."

"As part of our investigation, we need to fully understand what Verizon knew about Smith’s subpoenas, when they became aware members were impacted and why the company didn’t inform members like they were supposed to," he said.

In a Thursday letter to Verizon CEO Daniel Schulman, Grassley, Senate Investigations Subcommittee chairman Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and more than a dozen senators said they remain concerned not only by the alleged "abuse of power by federal government actors… but also with Verizon’s disclosures of (m)embers’ phone records pursuant to a May 25, 2023, subpoena (and) its failure to disclose this information to affected Members."

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Of the signatories, Sens. Bill Hagerty IV and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., Rick Scott, R-Fla., Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., Mike Lee, R-Utah, Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Josh Hawley, R-Mo., John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., also had their phone toll records or text messages swept up by Smith.

Their inquiry noted he asked Verizon in October 2023 to identify Justice Department or other federal law enforcement requests involving Senate devices used by his staff dating back to 2016.

The senator wrote that the subpoena was not disclosed in Verizon's initial response, and Grassley said Congress did not learn of it until Verizon acknowledged in 2025 that "human error" had caused its omission.

In its original October 2023 response to Grassley, Verizon wrote that it often limits retention of legal processes received to a period of four years, and attested it had no records to produce prior to October 2019.

"This raises questions as to whether Verizon discovered legal process from DOJ for Senate devices and lines, including the May 2023 Arctic Frost subpoena, in its search from October 1, 2019, to October 27, 2023, for responsive records to Chairman Grassley’s request," Grassley wrote in his new letter.

Therefore, Grassley and 15 other senators are demanding Verizon brass explain when they first learned Smith’s subpoena sought phone records that included members of Congress and when they discovered it had provided "tolling data" connected to those members and transmitted it to Smith.

Fox News Digital reached out to Verizon for comment.

Grassley’s new letter suggests the October 2023 exchange may be the key to determining whether Verizon merely missed the subpoena or discovered it and failed to disclose it.

"On what date were Daniel Schulman, Vandana Venkatesh, Hans Vestberg, and Craig Silliman first informed about the May 25, 2023, subpoena?" they asked of Verizon’s front office.

The senators also asked that Verizon explain its "human error" revelation in more specificity and produce internal records from May 2023 to October 2025 that discuss whether the company believed it was obligated to notify the implicated members of Congress or the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms (SAA).

The "human error" explanation also left unanswered why Smith’s May 25, 2023, "Arctic Frost" subpoena was omitted from Verizon's review of legal process involving SAA phone lines, even though the company acknowledged that two SAA numbers were included in the subpoena.

In 2025, documents provided to Grassley revealed Verizon complied with Smith while AT&T resisted the requests.

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However, both subpoenas were accompanied by gag orders signed by Obama-appointed District of Columbia federal Judge James Boasberg, a frequent foil of President Donald Trump’s. Boasberg directed Verizon and AT&T not to disclose the subpoenas to lawmakers for a period of one year.

The DOJ has issued subpoenas for lawmakers' information in the past, but former inspector general Michael Horowitz cautioned against it except in limited circumstances in a report published in 2025, saying that doing so "risks chilling Congress’s ability to conduct oversight of the executive branch."

Grassley’s letter gives Verizon until Aug. 13 to explain when it knew senators’ records were involved, who inside the company was informed and why the May 2023 subpoena did not surface in its earlier response to Congress.

Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans have branded Smith's "Arctic Frost" as "worse than Watergate."

Fox News Digital reached out to counsel for Smith for comment.