Jack Smith raised his right hand and swore to Congress he never read lawmakers' text messages.
Jim Jordan's committee went to the National Archives and found documents that made that answer impossible to defend.
Now the Justice Department is investigating whether Smith committed a federal crime – and Jordan says that is not where this ends.
National Archives Documents Expose the Perjury Case Against Jack Smith
Jim Jordan laid out the case on Newsmax's Wake Up America.
Former Special Counsel Jack Smith's team had subpoenaed the National Archives for text messages belonging to Trump administration officials – messages that included direct exchanges with members of Congress.
Jordan's committee obtained those same documents.
They showed Smith's team had access to the content of congressional communications.
That made Smith's previous testimony before Jordan's committee a serious problem.
"When Jack Smith goes to the National Archives and gets the text messages from members of the administration who are talking to members of Congress and tells us, 'I did not see the contents of any members of Congress communications,' that was not true," Jordan said.
Jordan's committee referred Smith to the Justice Department in July, alleging he made intentionally false statements while testifying under oath.
The DOJ confirmed receipt and said it will investigate all evidence of criminal conduct.
Smith's lawyers call the referral baseless and insist he gave truthful, responsive answers throughout his testimony.
Jordan disagrees – and he has the National Archives documents to say so.
Jordan also referred Smith's deputy, Thomas Windom, for obstruction after Windom declined to answer nearly every question put to him in a deposition, claiming Fifth Amendment protections while refusing to discuss his communications with FBI officials – an argument Jordan called "absurd and indefensible" given that the FBI is itself a component of the DOJ.
"We don't do this often, but when the facts are there, we refer them," Jordan said.
Kevin McCarthy Phone Records Reveal the Agent Had No Idea Who He Was Targeting
The Kevin McCarthy surveillance is where embarrassing becomes criminal.
Smith's team subpoenaed roughly three months of McCarthy's phone records 16 days after he was sworn in as Speaker of the House.
The subpoena came with a gag order – AT&T was barred from notifying McCarthy that his records had been seized, with the non-disclosure order citing him as a potential "flight risk."
The judge who approved the order never saw McCarthy's name.
The agent who actually delivered the subpoena told Jordan's committee under questioning that he had no idea the number was McCarthy's.
Jordan quoted the agent directly: "If I'd have known this was the speaker, I'd have stepped back and thought about this for a second."
That is the standard of care applied to surveilling the leader of the Republican Party in Congress.
"The speaker of the House is going to leave the country. This is the dumbest thing I've ever heard," he said.
McCarthy kept a 24/7 security detail – his location was known to the government at all times.
Smith defended the subpoenas during his January appearance before the House Judiciary Committee, calling them "entirely proper" and standard practice for a complex criminal investigation.
Congress saw it differently.
Senator Chuck Grassley had already exposed that Smith's team collected text messages from more than 40 members of Congress and subpoenaed phone toll records from a dozen senators.
That is not a narrow investigative thread targeted at the events of January 6.
That is a surveillance operation that ran across the entire Republican leadership structure in Washington.
Jordan Sends Jack Smith Criminal Referral to a DOJ Ready to Investigate
Jordan was direct about the limits of congressional power – and what happens now.
"The legislative branch … can't indict anyone. We have a duty to do oversight," he said.
His committee's work feeds the DOJ investigation directly – and Jordan says what they uncover will drive decisions on legislation and where Congress puts its money.
Smith is currently a partner at the law firm of Heaphy, Smith, Harbach & Windom – the same firm that carries Windom's name, the same deputy now referred for obstruction.
Smith spent two years building federal cases against Donald Trump.
Now Jordan has built a case against him – and delivered it to a Justice Department that has already confirmed it will investigate.
Sources:
- Brian Freeman, "Rep. Jim Jordan to Newsmax: Jack Smith Misled Congress," Newsmax, September 30, 2026.
- Fred Lucas, "Jim Jordan Refers Jack Smith for DOJ Criminal Investigation, Alleges He Misled Congress," The Daily Signal, July 23, 2026.
- Fred Lucas, "Jack Smith Forced to Explain 'Enemies List' of Congressional Phone Records," The Daily Signal, January 22, 2026.
- "Gill Exposes Jack Smith's Lies Over Kevin McCarthy Phone Record Subpoenas," Legal Insurrection, January 22, 2026.
- Nick Arama, "Brandon Gill Grilling of Jack Smith," RedState, January 22, 2026.
- "Top 5 Moments from Jack Smith's Testimony on Capitol Hill," Fox News, January 23, 2026.
