• House Republicans have referred former special counsel Jack Smith to the DOJ for alleged false statements.
• Smith's lawyers dispute the accusations, asserting he was truthful in his testimony.
• Former prosecutors claim the referral lacks evidence of a crime, calling it politically motivated.

House Republicans, led by Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, have formally referred former special counsel Jack Smith to the Justice Department, alleging he made false statements under oath during his testimony regarding his investigation into President Trump. The referral centers on Smith's claim that he did not seek a search warrant for lawmakers’ text messages, which Republicans allege misrepresents his actual activities, according to Los Angeles Times and NPR.

During a deposition, Smith addressed subpoenas for "toll records" from lawmakers, stating, "No," to questions about whether these requests included the content of communications. Republicans claim, however, that he failed to reveal access to text messages obtained through a separate request to the National Archives, which comprised the core of their allegations against him, as noted by CBS News and Los Angeles Times.

Smith's legal team has firmly refuted these claims, contending that he provided "unimpeachably truthful" responses directly related to the toll records. His lawyers emphasized that the specific questions posed did not elicit further information regarding text messages, highlighting a failure by congressional Republicans to ask the right questions during Smith's testimony, according to CBS News and NPR.

Former prosecutors have criticized the referral, deeming it an ineffective reach by House Republicans to frame Smith's legitimate responses as criminal misconduct. They argue that the referral is legally untenable, asserting that a witness cannot be held criminally liable for not disclosing information not specifically requested, as outlined in legal principles such as "literal truth," which maintains that truthfulness in response to the specific questions asked absolves the witness of lying under oath, according to CBS News.

The Justice Department has received Smith's referral; however, it remains unclear if they will act on it, given precedents where referrals from Congress have led to investigations but no guaranteed prosecutions, as highlighted by Los Angeles Times and CBS News.