The Republican chair of the House Judiciary Committee encouraged the Justice Department to look into criminally charging Jack Smith, alleging the former special counsel who brought charges against President Trump lied to Congress — allegations the committee’s top Democrat denied.
The criminal referral Wednesday from Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio stems from last year’s revelation that investigators obtained several Republican lawmakers’ phone records as part of a probe into Mr. Trump’s actions after the 2020 election. In a deposition last year, Smith testified that his team didn’t receive the contents of any phone calls or text messages since the records sought were “toll records,” which only include details like the numbers a person called.
But last week, the Justice Department told lawmakers that in a separate subpoena for records held by the National Archives and Records Administration, Smith’s team obtained text messages between Trump-era White House staffers and dozens of members of Congress.
In light of that information, Jordan accused Smith of making “materially false statements” and said he improperly “failed to disclose” the subpoena to the National Archives.
“All individuals have an obligation to comply with a duly authorized congressional inquiry. Mr. Smith, a former public servant, is no different,” Jordan wrote. “Yet his testimony included intentionally false statements designed to obstruct the Committee’s oversight.”
Jordan asked Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to investigate Smith. It is up to the Justice Department whether to pursue criminal charges following a criminal referral from Congress.
A Justice Department spokesperson confirmed to CBS News that it has received the referral letter and said it “will investigate all evidence of criminal conduct.”
The House Judiciary Committee’s top Democrat, Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, called the criminal referral “baseless and vindictive,” predicting in a statement that the case “will get laughed out of court” if it’s heard by a judge. He wrote that Smith was asked about the subpoenas for GOP lawmakers’ toll records, not the request to the National Archives, and argued Smith answered the questions posed by the committee truthfully.
“The Republicans fault Mr. Smith for not reading the minds of congressional investigators and for not volunteering information they didn’t ask for,” Raskin wrote Wednesday night. “This is absurd. Mr. Smith may be telegenic but he is not telepathic.”
CBS News has reached out to representatives for Smith for comment.
This is a breaking story; it will be updated.
