Jim Jordan Report Alleges Jack Smith Probe Violated Lawmaker Protections

House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, has released a 57-page report accusing former Special Counsel Jack Smith and the Department of Justice (DOJ) of attempting to "sway" the 2024 election through their probe into President Donald Trump and his allies.

The report alleges that Smith's team "ran roughshod over key constitutional protections" and used the DOJ as a tool against political opponents. According to the report, as many as 44 members of Congress, both Republican and Democratic, had the content of their text messages and toll records gathered by Smith's team.

Republicans contend that prosecutors intentionally circumvented legal processes to acquire this information, citing internal documents. The report claims that the DOJ's Public Integrity Section (PIN) expressed concerns about the constitutionality of seizing these records, but approved the subpoenas nonetheless, believing that gag orders would prevent lawmakers from discovering the data collection.

"Although PIN cautioned that the subpoenas could be unconstitutional, PIN approved them nonetheless, asserting there was little 'litigation risk' because the gag orders that accompanied the subpoenas would prevent Members from ever discovering the seizures," the report stated. "As a result, Members of Congress were unaware of the Biden-Harris DOJ’s spying for more than two years."

The report details that investigators in the probe, known as "Arctic Frost," sought Jordan's own phone records from August 2020 to January 2021 in connection with the federal investigation into Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa. PIN noted that the Speech or Debate Clause might not apply to personal cell phone records obtained from third parties, despite acknowledging "litigation risk."

Furthermore, the report alleges the DOJ improperly used an independent watchdog, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG), to serve a subpoena for Jordan's phone records spanning over two years. An OIG Special Agent testified that the investigation was unusual, with prosecution teams directing investigative steps rather than the agent independently pursuing the case.

The report also points to instances where Smith's team reportedly backed down from subpoenas sent to AT&T for other lawmakers' phone records after the carrier questioned their legal basis. Smith, according to the report, testified that he had no recollection of this specific instance but later privately acknowledged to then-Attorney General Merrick Garland that lawmakers might have a valid Speech or Debate privilege, even as Garland reportedly approved subpoenas for such records.

Jordan's report also highlighted that prosecutors bypassed a DOJ "filter team" process, which is typically used to separate potentially privileged information from investigative evidence. Of the 44 lawmakers whose records were reportedly accessed, two were Democrats.

In conclusion, Jordan's report urges the House of Representatives to consider the Congressional Records Protection Act, a bill that would prohibit government entities from obtaining records that could implicate the Speech or Debate Clause. Jordan argued that such protections are crucial not only for legislators but also for their constituents, safeguarding effective advocacy without fear of executive branch interference.

Smith has defended his team's actions, attributing the collection of GOP lawmakers' records to actions directed by Donald Trump. "I think who should be accountable for this is Donald Trump," Smith said in an excerpt from his testimony. "These records are people, in the case of the Senators, Donald Trump directed his co-conspirators to call these people to further delay the proceedings. He chose to do that."