Jordan refers Jack Smith to DOJ over Congress testimony
House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan has referred former special counsel Jack Smith to the Justice Department, accusing him of lying under oath about access to lawmakers’ text messages. The jack smith news follows newly cited records and a sharp Democratic rebuttal that Smith answered truthfully and that the texts came through White House archives.
Key Takeaways
- Jordan sent a criminal referral to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, urging DOJ to weigh charges against Smith.
- Republicans say Smith’s House Judiciary deposition understated his team’s access to members’ text-message content.
- Democrats say Smith truthfully denied subpoenaing members’ texts; content came via National Archives White House records.
- The Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
According to The Hill, Jordan late Wednesday recommended criminal charges against Smith, who led federal cases against President Donald Trump. The referral letter obtained by the outlet alleged false statements during Smith’s late-2025 deposition about that investigation and prosecution.
Coverage of the same move is tracked across Fintech & Crypto Alerts as the fight over congressional oversight and special-counsel power intensifies in Washington.
What did Jim Jordan allege against Jack Smith?
Jordan argued Smith gave Congress a “half truth” by not disclosing how text content reached his office. In the letter to Blanche, he wrote that new information “calls into question the completeness and accuracy” of Smith’s sworn statements about his team’s access to members’ text messages.
Fox News reported Jordan told DOJ that Smith’s testimony included “intentionally false statements designed to obstruct the Committee’s oversight,” and that the department should examine whether criminal charges are warranted. Jordan’s letter said Smith’s answers left the impression that neither he nor his team had access to the content of members’ privileged texts—“We now know this to be false,” the letter stated.
Central to the dispute are toll records—phone-company summaries of calls and message timestamps that do not include message content. Smith has acknowledged obtaining toll records for some lawmakers and told the committee he had not subpoenaed lawmaker text messages. Jordan wrote that while Smith said he did not seek a carrier search warrant for members’ text content, he “failed to disclose that his office received text message content from NARA relating to White House personnel phone records.”
Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) released documents last week indicating Smith’s team read text messages involving 44 members of Congress from both parties, plus White House staff, Fox News reported. Grassley’s office also said the team appeared to access texts without a filter-team review meant to wall off privileged material.
How did Democrats respond to the referral?
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) accused Jordan of distorting the record. He said Smith did not subpoena members’ texts but compelled the National Archives to produce White House staff communications preserved under the Presidential Records Act—records that showed text conversations with 44 members of Congress.
Raskin said Smith was “clear and consistent,” and that when asked whether his subpoena for members’ toll records sought the content of calls or messages, Smith truthfully said it did not. Raskin further argued Republicans never asked about presidential records or whether Smith’s team had reviewed members’ text messages, writing that Smith “could not have lied because Republican Members never even asked the question their theory is based on.”
The Hill reported it had reached out to Smith’s attorneys. Fox News noted Smith has denied wrongdoing amid GOP claims that his Trump probes abused DOJ power and privacy protections.
What happens next at the Justice Department?
The referral went to Blanche, who previously represented Trump in criminal matters that included cases brought by Smith. The department did not respond to comment requests from The Hill or Fox News. Raskin predicted any case based on the referral would “get laughed out of court,” casting the move as political harassment timed around Blanche’s Senate consideration to lead DOJ—claims Jordan’s side frames as accountability for sworn testimony.
For now, the core jack smith news is procedural, not a charging decision: Congress has asked DOJ to investigate alleged false statements, Democrats dispute the premise, and prosecutors have not publicly said whether they will act.