House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan brought a criminal referral against former Special Counsel Jack Smith to the Justice Department on Wednesday, contending that Smith made knowing false statements during his testimony on Capitol Hill last year.
Jordan sent the referral to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, claiming that newly obtained documents from the DOJ directly contradict what Smith told the committee. The congressman said Smith's answers created a false impression that neither he nor his team had access to privileged text messages belonging to members of Congress, a claim Jordan now disputes based on the new material.
"This information calls into question the completeness and accuracy of statements that Mr. Smith made under oath," Jordan wrote, adding that Smith's testimony regarding his team's access to members' text messages appears to have been incomplete at best.
The timing signals an escalation in Republican efforts to scrutinize the prosecutor who handled the federal cases against President Trump. Though House referrals carry no enforcement power and the Justice Department has no obligation to act on them, the move represents another chapter in the GOP's sustained focus on Smith since Trump's election victory last year.
Smith's legal team did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Democrats shot back swiftly. House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jamie Raskin called the referral "baseless" and "vindictive," defending Smith's truthfulness. Raskin pointed out that when Smith was specifically asked whether his subpoena for members' toll records sought the content of phone calls or messages, he accurately said it did not.
"That statement was true when he said it," Raskin stated. The Maryland Democrat suggested Republicans are actually upset about discovering that their own communications with the White House had become presidential records subject to preservation requirements under the Presidential Records Act.
Smith has already wound down both federal criminal cases against Trump following the president's election in November 2024. Acting Attorney General Blanche previously served as Trump's defense counsel in those same cases. Earlier this year, Smith stated he believed the incoming Trump administration might seek to indict him.
Author James Rodriguez: "This referral feels like political theater designed to keep pressure on Smith after Trump's victory, but without real legal teeth behind it."
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