Jack Smith Faces Criminal Referral From House Judiciary Committee

Former Biden special counsel Jack Smith has been accused by the House Judiciary Committee of making false statements to Congress.

Criminal Referral: House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) issued a criminal referral for Smith on Wednesday, saying there is "strong evidence" based on newly released records showing that the former special counsel misled the committee when asked about obtaining or reviewing text messages from lawmakers during his investigation into President Donald Trump's alleged efforts to interfere in the 2020 election. The new documents show that Smith obtained the contents of 44 lawmakers' text messages in a subpoena. Smith denied any wrongdoing.

Ultimate Nemesis: Outlets on the left, like The Daily Beast (Left bias) and The Associated Press (Lean Left) tended to frame the story around the Trump administration being "eager to investigate and in some cases prosecute foes of the president," in the words of the Associated Press article. The Daily Beast article said that Trump "exposed his own revenge plot against the man who tried to prosecute him twice." Both outlets highlighted Democrat lawmakers who called the move "vindictive" and "laughably weak."

Targeted Lawmakers: Outlets on the right, like Fox News (Right), tended to highlight details concerning which lawmakers were targeted in Smith's investigation. The article said that some of these lawmakers included Jordan, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA), the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), among others. The article also highlighted several other affected Trump officials.

Republican Controlled: Some outlets on the left, like The Guardian (Left), framed the move as stemming from a "Republican-controlled committee." The Guardian also highlighted Maryland Democrat Jamie Raskin saying that the "referral deliberately distorts and misstates the facts, including what questions the Republicans actually asked at Mr. Smith's interview." Raskin explained that "The Republicans fault Mr. Smith for not reading the minds of congressional investigators and for not volunteering information they didn't ask for."  

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