Republican Rep. Jim Jordan, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, on Wednesday night asked the Justice Department to consider criminally charging special counsel Jack Smith, who previously prosecuted President Donald Trump, according to a letter sent to DOJ obtained by CNN.
Jordan alleges Smith misled the committee in closed-door testimony late last year. Jordan’s concerns are largely based around Smith’s team of prosecutors obtaining text messages between Trump administration officials and members of Congress in their investigation of Trump and his top aides’ response to his 2020 election loss, according to the criminal referral letter Jordan sent to DOJ.
The Justice Department—with Trump’s primary defense attorney at the time, Todd Blanche, now leading the department and on the verge of Senate confirmation as attorney general— has already responded that it “will investigate all evidence of criminal conduct,” according to a spokesperson. The spokesperson confirmed the Department has received Jordan’s referral.
Jordan’s criminal referral on Smith, and the Justice Department’s swift response, fulfills a longtime Republican wish to investigate and potentially prosecute Smith.
Trump himself has called for Smith to be jailed, especially since he earned the dismissal of the criminal charges Smith had brought against him and returned to the presidency last year.
