House committee urges DOJ to charge former Trump prosecutor Jack Smith

The Republican chair of the House Judiciary Committee encouraged the Justice Department to look into criminally charging Jack Smith, alleging the former special counsel who brought charges against President Trump lied to Congress — allegations Smith's lawyers called "spurious."

The criminal referral Wednesday from Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio stems from last year's revelation that investigators obtained several Republican lawmakers' phone records as part of a probe into Mr. Trump's actions after the 2020 election. In a deposition last year, Smith testified that his team didn't receive the contents of any phone calls or text messages since the records sought were "tolling records," which only include details like the numbers a person called.

But last week, the Justice Department told lawmakers that in a separate request for records held by the National Archives and Records Administration, Smith's team obtained text messages between Trump-era White House staffers and dozens of members of Congress.

In light of that information, Jordan accused Smith of making "materially false statements" and said he improperly "failed to disclose" the request to the National Archives.

"All individuals have an obligation to comply with a duly authorized congressional inquiry. Mr. Smith, a former public servant, is no different," Jordan wrote. "Yet his testimony included intentionally false statements designed to obstruct the Committee's oversight."

Jordan asked Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to investigate Smith. It is up to the Justice Department whether to pursue criminal charges following a criminal referral from Congress.

A Justice Department spokesperson confirmed to CBS News that it has received the referral letter and said it "will investigate all evidence of criminal conduct."

Mr. Trump has called for Smith's prosecution in the past. The president has frequently lashed out at officials who investigated him, including former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, both of whom were criminally charged.

In a letter to Jordan and Blanche, attorneys for Smith called his answers to the committee's questions "unimpeachably truthful." They noted that Smith was asked about the subpoena for GOP lawmakers' tolling records, not the request for records from the National Archives. They also said Smith's team had disclosed the tech messages to Mr. Trump's lawyers, who didn't suggest at the time that anything "unlawful or improper" occurred.

"This referral reflects a chilling eagerness to weaponize the justice system by attacking a career, non