House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) submitted a criminal referral to the Department of Justice regarding former special counsel Jack Smith, alleging that Smith lied to Congress about tracking personal phone messages of lawmakers. Jordan's referral follows concerns raised by Republicans about Smith's actions during his tenure at the Department of Justice under President Joe Biden, particularly related to the 'Arctic Frost' investigation, which involved accessing communications records of mostly Republican lawmakers.
Jordan stated in a letter to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche that new evidence suggests Smith committed perjury during his testimony before the House Judiciary Committee last December, where Smith denied examining the contents of lawmakers’ text messages. A DOJ official confirmed that the department will investigate all evidence of criminal conduct in the referral.
Jordan accused Smith of intentionally providing false statements to obstruct congressional oversight and noted that Smith failed to disclose that his office received text message content from the National Archives and Records Administration. Smith had previously claimed that his team only sought telephone toll records, which do not include the content of calls.
Smith is known for leading investigations related to the January 6, 2021, election interference and classified documents cases against former President Donald Trump. The Arctic Frost investigation was initiated due to Smith's prosecution of Trump for alleged election interference in 2020. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) indicated that Smith's team reviewed personal text messages of 44 lawmakers and issued numerous subpoenas as part of the investigation, which Grassley described as targeting Republicans. Cruz criticized the DOJ for what he termed an abuse of process and called for accountability for those involved in the investigation.