Jack Smith may have believed he was untouchable when he led the Biden administration’s high-profile legal campaign against Donald Trump, but a group of Republican lawmakers is now making it clear that his alleged misconduct won’t go unanswered.On Friday, Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, joined by a coalition of Republican senators and one congressman, sent a formal letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi referring Smith to the Department of Justice’s Office of Professional Responsibility and two state bar associations for investigation. The letter accuses the former special counsel of serious professional misconduct that could warrant disbarment, The New York Post reported.
“As part of Jack Smith’s weaponized witch hunt, the Biden DOJ issued subpoenas to several telecommunications companies in 2023 regarding our cell phone records, gaining access to the time, recipient, duration, and location of calls placed on our devices from January 4, 2021, to January 7, 2021,” the letter read. “We have yet to learn of any legal predicate for the Biden Department of Justice issuing subpoenas to obtain these cell phone records.”The referral follows reports that Smith’s office spied on Republican members of Congress during that same period, using what’s known as a toll analysis — a process that allows investigators to obtain metadata such as call duration, recipient information, and location data from personal devices.Lawmakers were not notified, nor did they consent to having their private communications accessed.Joining Blackburn were Sens. Lindsey Graham, Tommy Tuberville, Dan Sullivan, Ron Johnson, Bill Hagerty, Josh Hawley, and Cynthia Lummis, along with Rep. Mike Kelly. Together, they are demanding that Smith face investigation by the DOJ and disciplinary action from the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility and the New York Attorney Grievance Committee, where Smith is licensed to practice law.
The lawmakers argue that Smith’s actions violated the Speech or Debate Clause of the Constitution, a core protection meant to preserve the independence of the legislative branch. They say the DOJ had no legitimate criminal predicate or legal justification for targeting their communications and instead engaged in a politically motivated “fishing expedition.”
“The conduct that Jack Smith and his team engaged in harkens back to a dark chapter in American history that we have not seen since the days of J. Edgar Hoover, and the completely corrupt investigation and prosecution by the FBI and DOJ of the late Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska,” the letter stated. “We must ensure that we never return to these disgraceful eras.”
The lawmakers’ concerns stem in part from an FBI operation known as Arctic Frost, which reportedly began in April 2022. The phone data collected through that effort was later incorporated into Smith’s election interference case against Trump, which led to the 2023 indictment. For Republicans, that timeline raises new concerns about the use of federal law enforcement for political ends.Several senators compared Smith’s actions to historic abuses of power, with Sen. Chuck Grassley suggesting that the seizures of lawmakers’ phone records were “arguably worse than Watergate.”
Smith now faces the most serious professional challenge of his career. The referral opens potential investigations in multiple jurisdictions and raises larger questions about how far special counsels can go before crossing constitutional boundaries.
For congressional Republicans, this effort isn’t just about one prosecutor — it’s about accountability. They say it’s a warning to anyone in government who believes they are above the law.