Jordan Demands Criminal Charges Against Jack Smith for Perjury
Chairman Jim Jordan referred former special counsel Jack Smith to DOJ for allegedly lying to Congress about accessing lawmakers' communications during an investigation.
The Ohio Republican alleges that Jack Smith committed perjury when he testified before the House Judiciary Committee in December, according to Emily Hallas writing in Washington Examiner. The referral centers on Smith’s denial that he examined the contents of lawmakers’ text messages during the so-called “Arctic Frost” investigation.
Smith obtained subpoenas that granted access to communications records of predominantly Republican lawmakers as part of an investigation conducted under President Joe Biden’s Justice Department. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley disclosed last week that Smith’s team reviewed text messages from 44 senators and representatives from both parties, though Republicans were disproportionately targeted.
In a letter to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, Jordan outlined what he described as new evidence contradicting Smith’s congressional testimony. A Justice Department official confirmed to the publication that the department will investigate all evidence of criminal conduct contained in the referral.
Jordan wrote that Smith’s testimony included intentionally false statements designed to obstruct the Committee’s oversight, noting that while Smith denied seeking search warrants for the content of lawmakers’ text messages from telecommunications carriers, he failed to disclose that his office obtained text message content from the National Archives and Records Administration relating to White House personnel phone records.
During his December testimony, Smith maintained his team only sought telephone toll records, which he characterized as historical routing information collected after calls occurred, including call numbers, timing, and duration, but not content.
Smith gained prominence for leading the January 6, 2021, election-interference and classified-documents prosecutions against President Donald Trump. The Arctic Frost investigation was initiated in connection with Smith’s pursuit of Trump over alleged election interference related to the events of January 6.
Senator Ted Cruz has stated that Smith sent subpoenas to AT&T for his cellphone records, voicemails, text messages, and geolocation data. Before last week’s revelation about the 44 lawmakers, Grassley had already disclosed that Smith issued 197 subpoenas to 34 individuals and 163 businesses, including financial institutions, as part of Arctic Frost, working in conjunction with former FBI Director Christopher Wray.
The subpoenas requested records and communications related to over 430 individuals and organizations, with Grassley indicating they all appeared to target Republicans. Cruz reported last November that U.S. District Judge James Boasberg approved subpoenas from Smith’s office allowing government monitoring of phone lines belonging to nine Republican senators, including Cruz himself. Verizon complied with the demands, while AT&T resisted.
Cruz characterized the investigation as a gross abuse of power, stating that when the Biden Justice Department subpoenas 20 percent of Republican senators, it represents an egregious abuse of process and a fishing expedition requiring full investigation and accountability for every executive branch official involved in weaponizing the government.
With information from Washington Examiner
