The House Judiciary Committee has initiated a criminal referral against former special counsel Jack Smith, with Republicans claiming he misrepresented the scope of his investigation into President Trump when testifying before Congress. The GOP alleges that Smith's prosecutorial team gathered and read private text communications belonging to members of Congress, raising constitutional concerns about the methods used during the investigation.

Chairman Jim Jordan characterized the allegations as involving breaches of constitutional rights and presented evidence to the Senate suggesting Smith had not been forthright about these investigative practices. The referral marks an escalation in Republican efforts to hold accountable the prosecutors who led the Trump investigations, transitioning from legislative scrutiny into potential criminal prosecution.