House Republican chairman refers Jack Smith’s former deputy to DOJ for prosecution
First on Fox: House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, called on the Department of Justice on Wednesday to prosecute one of former special counsel Jack Smith’s lead attorneys, accusing him of obstructing a congressional investigation.
Jordan said in the 19-page referral that Thomas Windom, a veteran federal prosecutor who was fired in the second Trump administration, declined to answer dozens of questions from committee staff after meeting with them twice behind closed doors this year.
Windom cited his Fifth Amendment right and federal rules surrounding grand jury secrecy, among other reasons, for refusing to answer questions. Jordan said he was dissatisfied with those reasons and that at least one other similarly situated prosecutor, J.P. Cooney, had been more candid with his committee, signaling Windom was withholding more than he needed to.
“Windom’s improper refusal to answer nearly all questions during his deposition obstructed the Committee’s fact-finding,” Jordan wrote. “As a senior assistant to Special Counsel Jack Smith, Windom possesses unique, firsthand information about the work of that Office. Yet, despite being given express authorization by DOJ on two separate occasions, Windom declined to answer questions during his deposition about topics necessary and relevant to the Committee’s inquiry.”
The GOP-led committee inquired about a range of topics related to Windom’s work investigating Trump’s alleged efforts to illegally overturn the 2020 election and supporting Smith as a former senior assistant special counsel.
Congress has a long history of referring its investigative targets to the DOJ for criminal prosecution, but the department has no obligation to act on them.
This referral marks the second from Jordan’s committee in as many months. In October, the chairman called on the DOJ to prosecute former CIA Director John Brennan, alleging he made false statements to Congress.
Fox News Digital reached out to a representative for Windom for comment.
Windom’s lawyer told the committee during a deposition in September that his client had cooperated with the committee “in good faith” and that committee Republicans and the Department of Justice did not return the favor.
The DOJ, the lawyer said, abandoned its typical practice of preventing line attorneys like Windom from testifying in Congress, especially without counsel. The committee, meanwhile, showed no “respect for, nor understanding” of federal obligations to keep grand jury material secret, the lawyer said.
“Majority staff, operating with no meaningful oversight or checks, have engaged in an unserious, performative exercise, convened for political theater,” Windom’s lawyer said, adding that “they have intentionally placed him on the horns of an impossible dilemma, forcing him to choose between risking criminal prosecution for violating grand jury secrecy rules or, alternatively, risking criminal prosecution for contempt of Congress.”
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