{"id":2500147,"date":"2025-10-17T14:20:01","date_gmt":"2025-10-17T18:20:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gop-lawmakers-refer-jack-smith-to-doj-for-misconduct-probe-and-disbarment\/"},"modified":"2025-10-17T14:22:45","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T18:22:45","slug":"gop-lawmakers-refer-jack-smith-to-doj-for-misconduct-probe-and-disbarment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gop-lawmakers-refer-jack-smith-to-doj-for-misconduct-probe-and-disbarment\/","title":{"rendered":"GOP lawmakers refer Jack Smith to DOJ for misconduct probe and disbarment"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fgop-lawmakers-refer-jack-smith-to-doj-for-misconduct-probe-and-disbarment%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2500147&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A group of Republican lawmakers, led by Senator Marsha Blackburn, has formally referred former special counsel Jack Smith to the Justice Department&#8217;s office of Professional Duty for a misconduct investigation and urged his disbarment in Tennessee and New York. They accuse Smith of illegally obtaining phone records of several Republican members of congress during the 2023 DOJ &#8220;Arctic Frost&#8221; investigation, which was a precursor to Smith&#8217;s prosecution of former President donald Trump for election interference. the letter alleges violations of constitutional protections, including the Speech or debate Clause, and professional ethics rules, describing Smith&#8217;s actions as a politically motivated &#8220;fishing expedition&#8221; targeting Republicans who supported Trump. Senate Judiciary committee Chairman Chuck Grassley criticized the phone record seizures as potentially worse than Watergate, and several GOP lawmakers demand more clarity and that smith be held accountable for abusing his investigatory powers.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">GOP lawmakers refer Jack Smith to DOJ for misconduct investigation, possible disbarment<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2368704\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>A group of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/republican-party\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Republican<\/a> lawmakers led by Sen. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/marsha-blackburn\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Marsha Blackburn<\/a> (R-TN) has formally referred former special counsel <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/jack-smith\/page\/49\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Jack Smith<\/a> to the Justice Department&rsquo;s Office of Professional Responsibility for a misconduct investigation and urged his disbarment in two states, citing what they called &ldquo;deeply disturbing revelations&rdquo; that Smith secretly obtained their phone records.<\/p>\n<p>In a<a href=\"https:\/\/www.blackburn.senate.gov\/services\/files\/70B90251-351A-46E7-BC84-A0790D3527DC\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> letter sent Friday<\/a> to Attorney General <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/pam-bondi\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pam Bondi<\/a>, Blackburn and four other GOP senators accused Smith of violating constitutional protections and professional ethics rules when his team subpoenaed call logs from multiple members of Congress during the 2023 phase of the DOJ&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3844119\/grassley-no-jack-smith-arctic-frost-hearings-until-doj-hands-over-more-records\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Arctic Frost<\/a> inquiry, a forerunner to Smith&rsquo;s election-interference prosecution of President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3854758\/john-bolton-likens-trump-to-stalin-before-surrender\/\">John Bolton pleads not guilty to charges in classified documents case<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3853827\/texas-antifa-members-indicted-on-terrorism-charges-for-ice-attack-first-time-ever\/\">Texas antifa members indicted on terrorism charges for ICE attack: &#8216;First time ever&#8217;<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3853907\/appeals-court-rejects-trumps-evidence-of-violent-chicago-protests\/\">Appeals Court rejects Trump&#8217;s evidence of violent Chicago protests, blocks National Guard deployment<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Special Counsel Jack Smith delivers remarks on a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/taking-aim-at-the-first-amendment\/\" title=\"Targeting the First Amendment\">recently unsealed indictment including<\/a> four felony counts against former President Donald Trump on August 1, 2023 in Washington, D.C.  (Drew Angerer\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&ldquo;As part of Jack Smith&rsquo;s weaponized witch hunt, the Biden DOJ issued subpoenas to several telecommunications companies in 2023 regarding our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/jan-6-committee-issues-first-subpoenas-to-four-trump-aides-allies\/\" title=\"Jan. 6 Committee Issues First Subpoenas To Four Trump Aides, Allies\">cell phone records<\/a>, gaining access to the time, recipient, duration, and location of calls placed on our devices from January 4, 2021, to January 7, 2021,&rdquo; the lawmakers wrote. &ldquo;We have yet to learn of any legal predicate for the Biden Department of Justice issuing subpoenas to obtain these cell phone records.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Joining Blackburn on the letter were Sens. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/lindsey-graham\/page\/16\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Lindsey Graham<\/a> (R-SC), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/tommy-tuberville\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Tommy Tuberville<\/a> (R-AL), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/dan-sullivan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dan Sullivan<\/a> (R-AK), and Rep. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/mike-kelly\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mike Kelly<\/a> (R-PA), all of whom were part of a group of nine Republican lawmakers who had their phone tolling data obtained as part of the FBI&rsquo;s Arctic Frost investigation. The lawmakers claimed Smith&rsquo;s actions &ldquo;trampled on the separation of powers&rdquo; by targeting sitting members of Congress for their communications in and around the time of the certification of the 2020 election.<\/p>\n<p>The senators further alleged that Smith&rsquo;s subpoenas violated the Constitution&rsquo;s Speech or Debate Clause, which shields legislators from outside inquiry into their official work. &ldquo;To the best we can tell, Smith&rsquo;s team went on this fishing expedition for one simple reason: we are Republicans who support President Trump,&rdquo; they wrote.<\/p>\n<p>According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/tim-burchett-says-biden-administration-destroyed-epstein-files\/\" title=\"Tim Burchett says Biden administration destroyed Epstein files\">documents released earlier<\/a> this month by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/chuck-grassley\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Chuck Grassley<\/a> (R-IA), Smith&rsquo;s office obtained &ldquo;toll analysis&rdquo; data &mdash; metadata revealing who lawmakers contacted &mdash; from nine Republican officials, including Sens. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ron-johnson\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ron Johnson<\/a> (R-WI), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3839645\/jack-smith-tracked-calls-gop-senators-jan-6-probe-fbi\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Bill Hagerty<\/a> (R-TN), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/josh-hawley\/page\/14\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Josh Hawley<\/a> (R-MO), and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/author\/sencynthialummis\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Cynthia Lummis<\/a> (R-WY). Grassley has denounced the seizures as &ldquo;arguably worse than Watergate.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The lawmakers are also asking that Smith be referred for disbarment in both Tennessee and New York, where he is licensed to practice law. The letter argues that Smith&rsquo;s actions violated state rules of professional conduct prohibiting lawyers from using investigative means that &ldquo;violate the legal rights of a third person.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;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,&rdquo; the letter states. &ldquo;We must ensure that we never return to these disgraceful eras.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The Arctic Frost investigation, launched by the FBI in April 2022 and later transferred to Smith in November that year, became the basis for his 2023 federal indictment against Trump on four counts in Washington, D.C. Records released by FBI Director Kash Patel show the investigation extended to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3812667\/biden-fbi-targeted-92-conservative-groups-arctic-frost-charlie-kirk-turning-point\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">at least 92 GOP-aligned individuals<\/a> or groups.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3846104\/gop-seeks-doj-jack-smith-communications\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">GOP SEEKS COMMUNICATIONS RECORDS BETWEEN EX-DOJ STAFF AND JACK SMITH<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Grassley said last week the committee <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3844119\/grassley-no-jack-smith-arctic-frost-hearings-until-doj-hands-over-more-records\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">could not hold any additional hearings<\/a> about the Arctic Frost operation until the Justice Department released additional internal records about how federal agents tracked Republican lawmakers. Additionally, the House Judiciary Committee this week&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3849905\/house-judiciary-committee-demands-jack-smith-testimony\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">demanded that Smith appear before the committee<\/a>&nbsp;for a transcribed interview about his &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nathan-wade-nowhere-to-be-found-as-house-republicans-attempt-to-subpoena-him-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Nathan Wade nowhere to be found as House Republicans attempt to subpoena him - Washington Examiner\">politically motivated prosecutions&#038;rdquo<\/a>; of Trump.<\/p>\n<p>Smith, who has kept a low profile since he left the department earlier this year, recently reemerged in a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3851348\/jack-smith-criticizes-supreme-court-immunity-decision\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">rare sit-down interview<\/a>&nbsp;last week with former federal prosecutor Andrew Weissmann, and has partnered with a coalition of ex-career DOJ officials under the group Justice Connection. The group has publicly touted its efforts to undermine Bondi&rsquo;s leadership, including&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thejusticeconnection.org\/justice-connection-campaign-emil-bove\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">running a campaign earlier this year to &ldquo;derail&rdquo; the judicial nomination<\/a>&nbsp;of Emil Bove, who briefly served as <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >acting deputy attorney general prior<\/a> to his confirmation to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>GOP lawmakers urge DOJ probe, disbarment of Jack Smith<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2633,"featured_media":2500148,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/AP23361566741688.webp?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[40439,7076,65416,32463,65417],"class_list":["post-2500147","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-disbarment","tag-doj","tag-gop-lawmakers","tag-jack-smith","tag-misconduct-probe"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/AP23361566741688.webp?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2500147","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2633"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2500147"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2500147\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2500151,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2500147\/revisions\/2500151"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2500148"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2500147"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2500147"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2500147"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}