House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, has officially referred former Special Counsel Jack Smith for prosecution. Jordan sent a letter to the Justice Department on Wednesday requesting a criminal investigation into Smith.
“The Committee on the Judiciary writes to refer strong evidence that appears to show Jack Smith, former Special Counsel, knowingly made false statements during his December 17, 2025 deposition,” Jordan wrote in a letter sent to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.
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Jordan’s accusations
Jordan alleges Smith made false statements during a closed-door congressional deposition last year. Jordan argues newly released Justice Department records contradict Smith’s testimony that his investigative team did not obtain or review the contents of lawmakers’ text messages during its investigation of President Donald Trump.
Jordan says Smith lied when asked if he ever subpoenaed the text messages of members of Congress. Smith did review lawmakers’ texts as part of the investigation, but they were obtained through the White House.
“This information calls into question the completeness and accuracy of statements that Mr. Smith made under oath to the Committee regarding his team’s access to the content of Members’ text messages,” Jordan’ letter reads.
He accuses Smith of telling a “half truth” by not specifying how he obtained the text messages.
A Justice Department spokesperson told NBC News that it “will investigate all evidence of criminal conduct.”
Critics react
Smith’s attorneys reject the allegation, calling his testimony “unimpeachably truthful” and arguing the referral mischaracterizes his answers. They accuse Jordan of putting forth an “unprecedented theory that Mr. Smith provided false testimony not because of what he said, but because of what he did not say.”
“The referral is made not because Mr. Smith made a false statement — the letter concedes he did not — but because he did not proactively disclose information that was not responsive to a question asked,” Smith’s attorneys wrote in a letter to Jordan and Blanche.
Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, the committee’s top Democrat, backed Smith, saying he did not subpoena the Congress members’ text messages. He said instead, Smith had the National Archives turn over the communications of White House staff, which included text conversations with 44 members of Congress.
“With today’s referral of Jack Smith to DOJ, Chairman Jordan and the Republican Congress have embarrassed themselves again in this investigation,” Raskin said. “Jack Smith was clear and consistent in his testimony, and he told the truth. When asked if his subpoena for Members’ toll records sought the content of either Member’s phone calls or messages, he truthfully replied that they did not. That statement was true when he said it, and it is true today.”
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