Jim Jordan Sends Jack Smith Criminal Referral to DOJ
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan has referred former Biden special counsel Jack Smith to the Justice Department for possible criminal prosecution.
The Ohio Republican says newly released records contradict Smith’s testimony about whether his investigative team obtained or reviewed lawmakers’ text messages during probes involving President Donald Trump.
Jordan sent the referral Wednesday to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. He argued that Smith gave misleading answers during a December deposition before the House Judiciary Committee and may have intentionally obstructed congressional oversight.
“All individuals have an obligation to comply with a duly authorized congressional inquiry. Mr. Smith, a former public servant, is no different,” Jordan wrote in the letter.
Jordan said Smith’s testimony created the impression that neither Smith nor his team had access to the contents of privileged congressional text messages. The chairman added, “We now know this to be false.”
The referral follows growing Republican scrutiny of Smith’s work as special counsel. Republicans have accused his office of using Justice Department powers improperly and violating constitutional privacy protections while investigating alleged interference in the 2020 election and President Trump’s handling of classified documents.
Smith has denied wrongdoing.
The dispute centers on what Smith told lawmakers about the records his team collected. When asked whether he examined the content of lawmakers’ text messages, Smith answered, “no.” He testified that his team sought only telephone toll records.
“Toll records were sought for historical telephone routing information, collected after calls had taken place, identifying the incoming and outgoing call numbers, the time of the calls and their duration,” Smith testified in December. “Toll records do not include the content of calls.”
Documents released by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley last week offered a different picture. Grassley’s office said Smith’s team read text messages belonging to 44 members of Congress from both parties, along with White House staff members.
The lawmakers reportedly included:
- Jim Jordan and Chuck Grassley
- The late Sen. Lindsey Graham
- Sen. Susan Collins
- House Majority Leader Steve Scalise
- Sen. Cory Booker
People connected to Trump’s first administration who were affected reportedly included former Vice President Mike Pence, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, FBI Director Kash Patel and Ivanka Trump.
Grassley’s office also said the investigative team appeared to access messages before they were reviewed by a filter team. That safeguard is intended to keep investigators from viewing privileged or sensitive material.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, rejected Jordan’s allegations. Raskin said the referral misrepresented both the evidence and the questions asked during Smith’s interview.
“This referral deliberately distorts and misstates the facts, including what questions the Republicans actually asked at Mr. Smith’s interview. The Republicans fault Mr. Smith for not reading the minds of congressional investigators and for not volunteering information they didn’t ask for. This is absurd. Mr. Smith may be telegenic but he is not telepathic,” Raskin said.
The Justice Department confirmed that it received the referral and said it would review the evidence.
“The Department can confirm receipt of the criminal referral from the House Judiciary Committee and will investigate all evidence of criminal conduct,” the department told Fox News Digital.