In a potential development brimming with legal intrigue, Blanche has suggested that the Justice Department might delve into allegations of perjury against Jack Smith, the former special counsel. This pertains to testimony Smith provided to Congress concerning his investigation into ex-President Trump’s purported attempts to derail the peaceful transition of power after the 2020 elections.
Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, a prominent Republican, pointed to a cache of documents disclosed by Chuck Grassley on Tuesday. These records reveal that Smith’s investigative team procured text messages from the National Archives and Records Administration. The messages encompassed communications from a notable 44 members of Congress.
According to the Justice Department, one of Smith’s investigators sought broad access to text communications stored in the National Archives. They requested all messages from October 2020 to January 20, 2021, linked to certain White House employees. This request inadvertently captured interactions between White House officials and numerous lawmakers.
The lawmakers spanned the political spectrum, including both Republicans and Democrats whose communications with White House staffers were retrieved by Smith’s team. Republicans such as Grassley, Hawley, Cruz, and Maine’s Senator Susan Collins, alongside Democrats like Senators Cory Booker, Representatives Adam Smith of Washington, and Joshua Gottheimer of New Jersey, as well as former Representative Karen Bass of California, found themselves on this extensive list.
Back in December, House legislators queried Smith over the records he amassed during the course of his investigation. Their focus was on the toll records gleaned from Congressional members. These toll records, which divulge call metadata such as telephone numbers, timestamps, and call durations, notably omit the actual content of any messages.
During one exchange, a House investigator asked Smith whether he sought search warrants for the content of text messages from members, to which Smith answered, “No, I don’t recall that.” He did say he sought a warrant for the toll records.
But Hawley suggested that Smith had lied to Congress when he was asked about the toll records.
“Maybe there’s some nuance I’m missing here, but it seems to me like this guy didn’t tell the truth,” Hawley said. “Have you thought about investigating this guy for perjury?”
In response, Blanche said, “we take testimony in front of this body very seriously. Yes.”