House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan referred former special counsel Jack Smith to the Justice Department on Wednesday, alleging Smith made willfully and intentionally false statements during congressional testimony last year.
Jordan wrote that new documents obtained by the committee contradict Smith's testimony and that Smith's answers gave the impression that neither he nor his team had accessed the content of members' privileged text messages. "Smith seemingly made willfully and intentionally false statements of material fact that contradict new documents obtained by the Committee from the Department of Justice," Jordan wrote.
Jordan sent a letter to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche requesting a criminal investigation and said the committee found "strong evidence" against Smith. A Justice Department spokesperson confirmed it had received the referral letter and said it "will investigate all evidence of criminal conduct.""
Jordan cited an exchange from Smith's deposition before the committee on Dec. 17, when Smith was asked whether he sought a "search warrant for the content of any text messages from Members." Smith responded, "No, I don't recall that." Asked whether he had asked only for toll records of the members of Congress, Smith said, "Correct."
Senate Republicans said they obtained documents showing Smith and his team reviewed text messages sent by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle but mostly Republicans to White House officials during the Trump administration. The documents show Smith's team received those messages from the National Archives and Records Administration in August 2023 and that the messages included material from October 2020 through Jan. 21, 2021.
The Senate Judiciary Committee previously revealed that the FBI analyzed the phone tolling records of eight Republican senators and one GOP House member covering activity in the days surrounding Jan. 6, 2021. Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa called that discovery "disturbing and outrageous" while releasing a letter that listed 44 lawmakers whose texts with the White House were sent to investigators on Smith's team.
Grassley said, "Smith's team ran roughshod over the Constitution even after repeated warnings," and said he intends to have Mr. Smith before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the coming months to hold him accountable.
In a letter to Jordan and Blanche, attorneys Peter Koski and Lanny Breuer defended Smith and called his answers to the committee's questions "unimpeachably truthful," describing the referral as "based on a spurious claim" and an attack on a career public servant. They added that 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," and said the move reflected "a chilling eagerness to weaponize the justice system."
Top Judiciary Democrat Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland called the criminal referral "baseless and vindictive," saying Smith told the truth and arguing Republicans were faulting him for not volunteering information that was not asked for. Raskin said Republicans never asked about whether the messages were presidential records, whether the messages had been found on White House officials' phones, whether the presidential records subpoenaed included the messages or whether Smith's team had ever "reviewed text messages from Members," and added that the case "will get laughed out of court."
Merrick Garland named Smith to the role of special counsel in late 2022, and Smith was put in charge of two Justice Department probes: one into efforts to stay in office after the 2020 election and another into the handling of sensitive government documents taken to Mar-a-Lago. Smith ultimately brought charges in both cases.
Both of the cases against Mr. Trump ended without charges in 2024: a judge tossed the classified documents indictment on the grounds that Smith was invalidly appointed, and the Supreme Court ruled that Mr. Trump was entitled to broad immunity for official acts in the 2020 election matter, after which Smith dropped the election case following Mr. Trump's 2024 election victory.
Jordan asked Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to investigate Smith, and it is up to the Justice Department whether to pursue criminal charges following a criminal referral from Congress. Blanche previously led Mr. Trump's criminal defense team in those cases, the reporting said.
Mr. Trump has called for Smith's prosecution in the past and has frequently lashed out at officials who investigated him, including former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, both of whom were criminally charged, the reporting noted.
A Justice Department spokesperson told CBS News that the department had received Jordan's referral letter and said it "will investigate all evidence of criminal conduct."
Smith's lawyers Lanny Breuer and Peter Koski wrote that Smith "provided truthful, responsive answers" during closed-door questioning in December and again during an open session in January, and they warned the referral reflects "a chilling eagerness to weaponize the justice system."
Jordan told the panel that Justice Department documents presented to the committee on July 14 showed Smith's investigators had access to the text messages of 44 members of Congress.
Democrats on the Judiciary Committee criticized the move as politically motivated, with Raskin saying the referral was meant to create a distraction so Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee "can feel just a little more comfortable confirming" Blanche to the post of attorney general.
A federal judge in November threw out criminal charges that had been brought against James Comey and Letitia James, earlier efforts by the Justice Department to pursue cases against officials who investigated Mr. Trump.
Amid news of the criminal referral, Mr. Trump posted on social media, "Justice at last???"
Smith previously served as head of the Justice Department's public integrity unit before being named special counsel, the reporting said.