House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan submitted a criminal referral to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Tuesday, urging the Justice Department to investigate former special counsel Jack Smith for allegedly making false statements to Congress.
Jordan accused Smith of misleading lawmakers during a December 2025 deposition when Smith stated his team possessed only "toll records." The referral cites recently disclosed documents showing Smith's investigators had obtained text messages involving 44 members of Congress through a subpoena to the National Archives. Smith's attorneys, Lanny Breuer and Peter Koski, denied the accusations, calling them a "chilling eagerness to weaponize the justice system" and noting the testimony concerned a specific subpoena. The Justice Department confirmed receipt and pledged to investigate.
The referral coincides with the Senate Judiciary Committee's scheduled vote Wednesday on Blanche's nomination as attorney general. Representative Jamie Raskin dismissed the referral as "baseless and vindictive."