Jack Smith dismisses Jim Jordan’s criminal referral to the DOJ as pointless
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Former Special Counsel Jack Smith maintains his innocence after House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, referred him to the Department of Justice (DOJ) to face criminal charges.
Jordan accused Smith of lying under oath during a speech to his House GOP-led caucus in December 2025.
But Smith’s attorneys dismissed the referral as improper in a letter to Jordan and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche Wednesday night.
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Former special counsel Jack Smith testifies during a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee at the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill on Jan. 22, 2026, Washington, DC. (Al Drago/Getty Images)
“Mr. Smith agreed to testify before the House Judiciary Committee fully aware of the risk that President Trump’s Justice Department would try to find something in his testimony to form the basis of a criminal case,” Smith’s attorneys wrote in a letter obtained by Fox News Digital.
“This risk was not because Mr. Smith was going to make a false statement, but because President Trump has repeatedly ordered that Mr. Smith be prosecuted and imprisoned. That is not the law. And it is against the principles that are important to the life of our democracy.”
Smith is being tapped to investigate whether President Donald Trump and his allies conspired to overturn the results of the 2020 election and whether the president mishandled classified documents. Trump has denied wrongdoing in both allegations, which ended after the 2024 presidential cycle.
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Jordan’s letter to Blanche on Wednesday night, which was first reported by Fox News Digital, said that “the answers given by Mr. Smith gave the impression that Mr.
“We now know that this is false,” the letter added.
The transfer comes after Smith faced scrutiny from Republicans for allegedly using the DOJ and violating statutory privacy protections.
Representative Jim Jordan leaves the House Republican Conference meeting at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on Dec. 10, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
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 and White House staff during its investigation.
Lawmakers who were targeted included Jordan and Grassley in addition to Sen. Lindsey Graham, RS.C. deceased; Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine; House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La.; and Seni. Cory Booker, DN.J.
When Smith was asked by congressional investigators whether he reviewed the content of lawmakers’ text messages during his investigation, he said, “No.” He told the House Judiciary Committee that his team only wanted phone records.
But Smith’s attorneys argued that he was not questioned about the text messages during the Republican hearing, so the criminal referral was made “because he did not disclose information that did not answer the question asked.”
“During his testimony, Mr. Smith gave truthful, responsive answers and candidly discussed his work as Special Counsel. This referral shows a sadistic desire to arm the justice system by attacking an impartial public servant who faithfully and fearlessly did his job in accordance with the facts and the law,” the attorneys wrote.
“The toll records subpoenas that were the focus of those questions did not require the content of the text messages. The questions and answers that preceded and followed these interviews also made it clear that the focus of the questions was on the subpoena of toll records. Notably, the subpoena does not dispute the veracity of Mr. Smith’s answers.”
Smith’s lawyers also said that his team was within their rights, and did not violate the lawyers’ constitution in the speech and debate clause, when they received the messages.
“That important provision of the constitution, which Mr. Smith and his team took seriously and defended, protects Members of Congress from the use of their own legal actions against them. It does not prevent prosecutors from using or reviewing messages between Members of Congress and members of the Executive Branch in the investigation and prosecution of an Executive Branch official, which is exactly what happened here,” the letter said.
“This review of messages does not include the interference of the Executive Council in the legal field because these messages were sent voluntarily by members of the Legislative Branch to members of the Executive Branch.
Donald Trump speaks to members of the press outside the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, Monday, April 13, 2026. (Salwan Georges/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Trump has attacked Smith since he began his investigation, calling him a “Trump hater” and a “crook” at times.
Trump’s allies have criticized the longtime prosecutor as a partial actor in targeting the president unfairly.
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The DOJ told Fox News Digital on Tuesday night about Jordan’s transfer, “The Department can confirm that it receives this sentence from the House Judiciary Committee and will investigate all evidence of criminal conduct.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the committee for a response to Smith’s letter.
