GOP's Jack Smith referral fails to show he committed a crime, ex-prosecutors say
Summary
House Republicans have asked the Justice Department to prosecute special counsel Jack Smith for allegedly lying under oath about seeking a search warrant for lawmakers' text messages. Former prosecutors say there is no proof Smith committed a crime because he accurately answered the specific questions he was asked.Key Facts
- House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan referred Jack Smith to the Justice Department for possible prosecution.
- Jordan alleges Smith made false statements about not seeking a search warrant to get text messages from members of Congress.
- Smith’s testimony said his team only asked for "toll records," which show phone call logs but not message content.
- Smith’s team obtained some text message data through the National Archives, but Smith was not asked about this directly during his deposition.
- Legal experts say Smith’s answers were truthful based on the questions asked.
- Violating 18 USC 1001, which bans false statements to the government, is the basis of the referral.
- Experts explain that if a witness answers literally true to the exact question, it is not a crime even if information is incomplete.
- The Justice Department does not have to act on referrals from Congress but has investigated similar referrals in the past.
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