House Judiciary Committee chair urges DOJ to consider criminal charges against former special counsel Jack Smith

Republican Rep. Jim Jordan, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, sent a criminal referral to the Justice Department on Wednesday, urging an investigation into former special counsel Jack Smith for allegedly making false statements to Congress about the scope of a subpoena for lawmakers’ records. Jordan said Smith “intentionally false statements designed to obstruct the Committee’s oversight” and failed to disclose a subpoena to the National Archives that obtained text messages between former White House staff and members of Congress.

The referral follows revelations that Smith’s team received text messages from the National Archives, contrary to Smith’s earlier testimony that his investigators only received toll-record data, which lists call numbers but not content. Jordan asked Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to review the matter, noting that the decision to pursue criminal charges rests with the Justice Department.

A Justice Department spokesperson confirmed receipt of the referral and said the department will “investigate all evidence of criminal conduct.”

Smith’s attorneys responded that his testimony was “unimpeachably truthful,” arguing that the subpoena sought only toll-record information and that any text messages were disclosed to Trump’s lawyers, who did not raise concerns about illegality. They also contended that the Speech or Debate Clause does not bar the use of such messages in an investigation of an executive-branch official.

Democratic member of the committee Rep. Jamie Raskin called the referral “baseless and vindictive,” predicting it would be dismissed by a court. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley, who previously criticized the FBI’s review of congressional phone records, described the discovery of the texts as “disturbing and outrageous” and suggested the investigation may have bypassed constitutional protections.

Smith, appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland in 2022, led two high-profile DOJ probes into President Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election and his handling of classified documents. Both cases ended without convictions in 2024. The current dispute centers on whether Smith’s handling of congressional communications violated legal or constitutional standards.