Former Biden special counsel Jack Smith now faces potential criminal prosecution after Republicans accused the ex-prosecutor of misleading Congress about the true scope of his investigation into President Donald Trump.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, issued a direct criminal referral for Smith, arguing that newly released records directly contradict Smith's past testimony to his committee. Smith had previously stated he did not obtain or review lawmakers' text messages during his politically charged probes into President Trump.
"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 a scathing letter to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. "Yet his testimony included intentionally false statements designed to obstruct the Committee’s oversight. His conduct can only be understood as an effort to thwart the Committee’s inquiry by intentionally making false statements and representations before Congress." Jordan urged the Justice Department to immediately examine Smith's actions for potential criminal charges.
Jordan's letter explicitly accuses Smith of making false statements during a December deposition before the House Judiciary Committee. He asserted that Smith's responses "gave the impression that neither Mr. Smith nor his team had access to the content of members’ privileged text messages."
"We now know this to be false," the letter forcefully adds.
This critical referral comes as Smith faces increasing scrutiny from Republicans who contend he weaponized the Justice Department and flagrantly violated constitutional privacy protections during his investigations targeting alleged interference in the 2020 election and President Trump’s handling of classified documents. Smith, of course, has issued a blanket denial of any wrongdoing.
Adding to the undeniable evidence, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, released explosive documents last week. These records reveal that Smith's team had indeed read the text messages of a staggering 44 members of Congress from both parties, along with numerous White House staff, throughout its investigation.
Among the targeted lawmakers were Jordan and Grassley himself, in addition to the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine; House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La.; and even Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J. High-profile Trump officials whose communications were swept up included former Vice President Mike Pence, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, FBI Director Kash Patel, and Ivanka Trump, among others in President Trump's immediate orbit during his first term.
Grassley’s office further uncovered that Smith’s team appeared to violate critical investigative protocols by accessing these sensitive text messages without a prior review by a "filter team"—a crucial safeguard specifically designed to prevent investigators from accessing privileged information. The rules, apparently, didn't apply.
During his testimony to congressional investigators, Smith was asked directly if he examined the contents of lawmakers’ text messages during his probe. His unequivocal answer: "no." He told the House Judiciary Committee his team had only sought 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." This statement now stands in stark contradiction to the evidence uncovered by Senator Grassley.
Unsurprisingly, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, attempted to deflect, blasting Jordan's referral as deliberately distorting facts. "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 claimed in a statement, seemingly dismissing the clear contradiction in Smith's own testimony.
The Justice Department confirmed to Fox News Digital that it has received the criminal referral from the House Judiciary Committee and pledged to "investigate all evidence of criminal conduct." Americans deserve full transparency and accountability when government officials are accused of abusing their power and misleading Congress. The integrity of our institutions, and the constitutional rights of our elected representatives and citizens, demand nothing less than a thorough and impartial investigation into these grave accusations against a former special counsel.
