House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) on Wednesday referred Thomas Windom, a former attorney for then-special counsel Jack Smith, to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution related to his alleged obstruction of Congress.
In a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Jordan lays out how Windom refused to answer multiple questions during a transcribed interview in June and a required deposition in September.
Smith’s former aide declined to answer the House Judiciary Committee’s questions, claiming he didn’t have authorization from the DOJ to divulge information on various topics. However, his argument was proven moot because the DOJ did authorize Windom’s compelled testimony before the initial interview.
“Windom invoked an absurd and indefensible interpretation of DOJ’s authorization by refusing to testify about communications with FBI officials in part on the grounds that FBI officials are not ‘DOJ officials,’” Jordan wrote in the 193-page letter featuring transcripts of the attorney’s answers.
“This position is nonsensical because the FBI is a component of the Department of Justice and the Department specifically informed Windom’s attorney that the Committee would inquire about communications with FBI officials,” he continued. “Windom also refused to provide certain details, including names and information about the other prosecutors he worked with during the investigations into President Trump, citing lack of specific Department authorization. These positions are in direct conflict with the Department’s clear direction to provide ‘unrestricted testimony’ about the topics under inquiry.”
The topics that Windom declined to address include his past interactions with the House January 6 Select Committee, the FBI’s seizure of Rep. Scott Perry’s (R-PA) cellphone, and the Biden administration’s “Arctic Frost” investigation of other Republican lawmakers.
“I respectfully decline to respond for the reasons stated by my counsel,” he repeatedly responded.
Among the many reasons that Windom provided for why he couldn’t disclose sensitive information to the GOP-majority committee, according to the letter, were an “unspecified First Amendment privilege, attorney-client privilege, a misguided belief that the Committee had no legitimate legislative purpose for the inquiry, and his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.”
Jordan is asking Bondi to subject Windom to criminal prosecution for “corruptly” obstructing or impeding the congressional investigation.
“Congress cannot perform its oversight function if witnesses who appear before its committees corruptly refuse to provide information that the law requires them to furnish,” the top Republican on the congressional panel said.
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Smith himself has become a target for Republicans since he left office. Last month, Jordan asked Smith to testify regarding his “politically motivated prosecutions” of President Donald Trump. In response, Smith asked for a public hearing where he can testify.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), in his official capacity as ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, led his party in urging Jordan to accept Smith’s offer. Raskin argued that “every modern” special counsel has provided public testimony about their investigations into a sitting or former president.