House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, issued a criminal referral Wednesday against former Biden special counsel Jack Smith, accusing the former federal prosecutor of misleading Congress about the scope of his investigations into President Donald Trump. The referral marks an escalation in Republican efforts to hold Smith accountable for his handling of the classified documents and 2020 election interference probes.
Jordan's referral centers on Smith's December testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, where Smith stated that his team only sought telephone toll records during its investigations and did not access the content of lawmakers' text messages. Jordan argues newly released documents contradict this account.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, released documents last week showing Smith's team read the text messages of 44 members of Congress from both parties as well as White House staff during its investigation into alleged interference during the 2020 election and Trump's handling of classified materials. Targeted lawmakers included Jordan and Grassley themselves, along with the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine; House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La.; and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., among others.
Grassley's office also found that Smith's team appeared to bypass investigative protocols by accessing text messages that had not been reviewed by a filter team, a safeguard designed to prevent investigators from accessing privileged information, according to the documents released by his office.
What the Right Is Saying
Jordan wrote in a letter to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche: "All individuals have an obligation to comply with a duly authorized congressional inquiry. Mr. Smith, a former public servant, is no different." The Ohio Republican argued that Smith's 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 continued in his letter. He called on the Justice Department to examine whether Smith's actions warrant criminal charges under laws prohibiting false statements to Congress.
Republicans have framed the referral as part of broader oversight efforts to hold accountable prosecutors who they say weaponized the Justice Department during the Trump administration. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has backed Jordan's efforts, and multiple committee chairmen have sought documents related to Smith's investigations into the former president.
What the Left Is Saying
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, sharply criticized Jordan's referral in a statement to reporters. "This referral deliberately distorts and misstates the facts, including what questions the Republicans actually asked at Mr. Smith's interview," Raskin said. "The Republicans fault Mr. Smith for not reading the minds of congressional investigators and for not volunteering information they didn't ask for."
Raskin added: "This is absurd. Mr. Smith may be telegenic but he is not telepathic." The Maryland Democrat defended Smith's testimony as responsive to the questions posed, arguing that Republicans are now trying to retroactively expand the scope of their inquiry to create an appearance of deception where none existed.
Smith has denied any wrongdoing throughout the investigation into his conduct. His defenders have noted that accessing publicly available metadata and working within the bounds of existing Justice Department protocols does not constitute false testimony unless specific questions were answered falsely, rather than simply incomplete answers being deemed insufficient by committee members after the fact.
What the Numbers Show
The Grassley documents show that Smith's team accessed text messages from 44 members of Congress across both parties during its dual investigations. Those targeted included at least seven Republican senators, six Democratic senators, multiple House members from both parties, and a range of Trump-era White House officials including former Vice President Mike Pence, deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, FBI Director Kash Patel, and Ivanka Trump.
Smith's December testimony made clear the distinction his team drew between toll records and message content. "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. "Toll records do not include the content of calls." The Grassley documents appear to show that Smith's team accessed message content in addition to metadata, contradicting this framing.
The Justice Department confirmed receipt of the criminal referral Wednesday, stating: "The Department can confirm receipt of the criminal referral from the House Judiciary Committee and will investigate all evidence of criminal conduct."
The Bottom Line
The criminal referral places Attorney General Todd Blanche in the position of deciding whether to pursue charges against a former special counsel who investigated the current president. Such a prosecution would be unprecedented and would likely face significant legal challenges regarding the scope of congressional testimony requirements.
Smith's attorneys are expected to argue that his responses were accurate as given and responsive to the questions posed, even if broader context about document access could have been volunteered but was not specifically asked for during the deposition. The case will test long-standing questions about what constitutes false statements versus incomplete answers in congressional settings.
What happens next: The Justice Department will review Jordan's referral and supporting documents. Smith's team has indicated they will contest any charges vigorously. Congressional Democrats are expected to mount a defense of Smith's conduct while Republicans push for additional document releases and testimony from other Justice Department officials involved in the investigations.