House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan refers Jack Smith to DOJ over alleged false statement

House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) referred former Special Counsel Jack Smith to the Justice Department on Wednesday, alleging he knowingly made false statements during congressional testimony last year.

Why it matters: The referral escalates House Republicans' efforts to scrutinize the former special counsel who prosecuted President Trump, even though the Justice Department is not required to act on congressional criminal referrals.

Driving the news: "Smith seemingly made willfully and intentionally false statements of material fact that contradict new documents obtained by the Committee from the Department of Justice," Jordan said in a referral to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.

• "The responses provided by Mr. Smith gave the impression that neither Mr. Smith nor his team had access to the content of members' privileged text messages," said Jordan, referring to members of Congress.
• "We now know this to be false," he added.
• "This information calls into question the completeness and accuracy of statements that Mr. Smith made under oath to the Committee regarding his team's access to the content of Members' text messages."
• Smith's attorneys did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.

The other side: House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) in a statement called the referral "baseless" and "vindictive," saying Smith told the truth as he gave clear and consistent testimony before Congress last December.

• "When asked if his subpoena for Members' toll records sought the content of either Member's phone calls or messages, he truthfully replied that they did not. That statement was true when he said it," Raskin said.
• "It seems Republican Members of Congress are lashing out because they just realized their communications with the White House became presidential records preserved at the National Archives as required by the Presidential Records Act (PRA). This referral deliberately distorts and misstates the facts, including what questions the Republicans actually asked at Mr. Smith's interview."

Zoom out: Smith wound down two federal criminal cases he brought against Trump after the president was elected in 2024.

• Blanche previously led Trump's criminal defense team in those cases.
• Smith said earlier this year he believed the Trump administration would indict him.

Go deeper: 5 key takeaways from Jack Smith's deposition on the Trump probes

Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional details throughout.