The Jim Jordan referral to the Justice Department seeks a criminal investigation of former special counsel Jack Smith, alleging he gave false statements during a congressional deposition last year, according to a letter sent Wednesday by the House Judiciary Committee’s Republican chairman.
Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, wrote to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche that Smith “seemingly made willfully and intentionally false statements of material fact that contradict new documents” the Senate Judiciary Committee obtained this month. Jordan said his panel found “strong evidence” and asked the department to consider a criminal charge.
A Justice Department spokesperson confirmed receipt of the referral and said the department “will investigate all evidence of criminal conduct.”
Smith has been a frequent target of President Donald Trump, who criticized him over prosecutions brought against the former president.
In a letter to Jordan and Blanche, Smith’s attorneys denied that he made false statements, saying he “provided truthful, responsive answers and candidly discussed his work as Special Counsel.” Lawyers Peter Koski and Lanny Breuer wrote that the referral was based on Smith not volunteering information that was not responsive to questions asked, adding that the move “reflects a chilling eagerness to weaponize the justice system by attacking a career, nonpartisan public servant.”
Jim Jordan referral centers on deposition exchange
Jordan pointed to Smith’s Dec. 17 deposition before the House Judiciary Committee, where Smith was asked whether he sought a “search warrant for the content of any text messages from Members.” Smith replied, “No, I don’t recall that.” When asked if he had requested only toll records from members of Congress, Smith said, “Correct.”
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., the committee’s ranking member, said Jordan’s referral “deliberately distorts and misstates the facts, including what questions the Republicans actually asked at Mr. Smith’s interview.” Raskin added that “Congressional Republicans never asked Jack Smith about presidential records,” arguing that Republicans did not inquire whether messages from lawmakers were found on White House officials’ phones, whether presidential records subpoenaed included those messages, or whether Smith’s team had ever “reviewed text messages from Members.” He said, “Jack Smith could not have lied because Republican Members never even asked the question their theory is based on.”
As special counsel starting in 2022, Smith led two investigations. One examined efforts to interfere with the 2020 election. The other addressed allegations that Trump mishandled classified documents after his first term. Trump denied wrongdoing in both. The cases were dismissed in 2024 following his election to a second term. Longstanding Justice Department policy bars prosecuting a sitting president.
Senate GOP cites document trove on congressional texts
Senate Republicans said last week they obtained Justice Department documents showing Smith and his team reviewed text messages sent by 44 members of Congress as part of the Trump investigations. According to the Senate Judiciary Committee, the messages, sent by lawmakers from both parties but mostly Republicans, were communications to White House officials during Trump’s first term. Smith’s team received the texts from the National Archives and Records Administration in August 2023. They covered October 2020 through Jan. 21, 2021.
The Senate Judiciary Committee argued Smith’s team did not wait for a “Filter Team” to screen and segregate potentially privileged content, asserting violations of protections under the Constitution’s Speech and Debate Clause. “Smith’s team ran roughshod over the Constitution even after repeated warnings,” committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said in a July 14 statement. He said he intends to call Smith before the Senate Judiciary Committee “in the coming months to hold him accountable.”
Grassley’s messages were among those reviewed, as were messages from Jordan, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Rand Paul, R-Ky.
Fox News first reported Jordan’s referral, which centers on Smith’s work as special counsel in the Trump-era investigations.
