Jack Smith hit with criminal referral as GOP moves testimony fight toward prosecution

FIRST ON FOX: Former Biden special counsel Jack Smith could face potential criminal prosecution after Republicans accused the ex-prosecutor of misleading Congress about the scope of his investigation into President Donald Trump.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, issued a criminal referral of Smith on Wednesday, arguing newly released records contradict Smith's testimony to his committee that he did not obtain or review lawmakers' text messages during his multiple probes into President Donald Trump.

"All individuals have an obligation to comply with a duly authorized congressional inquiry. Mr. Smith, a former public servant, is no different," Jordan wrote in a letter to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Wednesday. "Yet his 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, adding that the Justice Department should examine whether Smith's actions warrant criminal charges.

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Jordan’s letter accused Smith of making false statements during a December deposition before the House Judiciary Committee. Specifically, Jordan argued that "responses provided by Mr. Smith gave the impression that neither Mr. Smith nor his team had access to the content of members’ privileged text messages."

"We now know this to be false," the letter said.

The referral comes after Smith faced mounting scrutiny from Republicans over allegedly weaponizing the Justice Department and violating constitutional privacy protections during his investigations into alleged interference during the 2020 election and Trump’s handling of classified documents.

He has denied any wrongdoing.

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.

Targeted lawmakers included Jordan and Grassley in addition to 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.

Meanwhile, Trump officials who were impacted included former Vice President Mike Pence, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, FBI Director Kash Patel and Ivanka Trump, among others in the president's orbit during his first term.

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Grassley's office also found that Smith's team appeared to violate 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.

When Smith was asked by congressional investigators if he examined the contents of lawmakers’ text messages during his probe, he said, "no."

He told the House Judiciary Committee that his team only sought telephone toll records.

"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 in December. "Toll records do not include the content of calls."

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The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.