DOJ Bombshell: Lawmakers’ Texts Exposed

New Justice Department records suggest former Special Counsel Jack Smith may have lied to Congress about reading lawmakers’ private text messages during his Trump investigation.

Story Snapshot

Justice Department records show Jack Smith’s team accessed and reviewed the content of texts involving 44 members of Congress.
Smith previously told House investigators his office only obtained phone “toll records,” not the substance of text messages.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche signaled support for investigating whether Smith’s testimony amounts to perjury.
The episode deepens fears across the political spectrum that Washington’s elites bend legal rules while ordinary Americans pay the price.

Blanche Signals Possible Perjury Probe Into Jack Smith

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche used his confirmation hearing to say former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s testimony about lawmakers’ texts needs new scrutiny. Blanche faced sharp questions from Republican Senator John Kennedy, who pressed him on whether the Justice Department would investigate evidence that Smith’s team read the contents of congressional text messages after Smith denied doing so under oath. Blanche did not promise charges, but he agreed the matter was serious and said he supports a formal review of Smith’s statements and actions.

Blanche’s comments came as many Americans, both conservative and liberal, already doubt whether the Justice Department applies the law fairly. Conservatives see the Smith investigation as part of a long pattern of “America First” critics being targeted by federal prosecutors. Liberals, meanwhile, worry that powerful insiders in both parties can break rules without real accountability, deepening the gap between elites and ordinary citizens. Blanche’s suggestion of a possible perjury probe taps into these shared frustrations about a justice system seen as political and opaque.

Records Show Smith’s Team Read Lawmakers’ Text Messages

Justice Department records released to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and Senator Ron Johnson show that Smith’s investigative team obtained and reviewed text messages involving 44 current and former members of Congress. Those messages were stored on government phones used by Trump White House officials and were produced by the National Archives after a broad subpoena covering October 2020 through January 2021. The records say Smith’s team “apparently bypassed” the department’s Filter Team and directly accessed the text content, raising concerns about investigative protocols and constitutional safeguards.

The list of affected lawmakers spans both parties, though it is heavy on Republicans. Grassley himself was among the 44, along with other senators and representatives who texted senior Trump officials during the final months of Trump’s first term. Internal Justice Department summaries released by Grassley show that Smith’s deputies quickly prepared to share these materials with Trump’s legal team as part of pre-trial discovery, confirming they were not treated as off-limits or screened for privilege first. For many readers, the idea that a politically charged investigation quietly swept up and read lawmakers’ messages feeds fears of a “deep state” that plays by its own rules.

Smith’s Sworn Testimony Appears to Conflict With the New Evidence

Smith’s December 17, 2025 closed-door deposition before the House Judiciary Committee painted a very different picture of what his office accessed. When asked if his team sought a warrant for the contents of lawmakers’ text messages, Smith answered, “No, I don’t recall that,” and said they obtained “just toll records.” He later agreed that those toll records did not include text content, only non-content details like phone numbers and timing. House Republicans released the full 255-page transcript on December 31, 2025, giving the public a clear record of his sworn statements.

That testimony now sits beside Justice Department records showing Smith’s team did in fact review the contents of text messages involving lawmakers. Grassley’s news release flatly states that “Jack Smith’s investigative team obtained and reviewed text messages from 44 Members of Congress,” framing the issue as a direct contradiction of Smith’s sworn claims. If prosecutors can be shown to have knowingly made false statements under oath about a material point, federal perjury laws may apply. The central legal question is whether Smith’s answers were a deliberate lie or a defensible, if strained, way to describe complex access to records.

Why Perjury Cases Against Powerful Officials Rarely Move Forward

History shows that Congress often raises perjury concerns about top Justice Department officials, but criminal charges are rare. Special Counsel Robert Mueller examined whether former Attorney General Jeff Sessions lied in his Senate testimony about contacts with Russian officials, yet concluded he could not prove Sessions was “willfully untruthful.” Legal experts note that federal perjury statutes require clear proof that a witness knowingly gave false answers on important topics, not simply that later evidence conflicts with their memory or wording.

Sen. Blumenthal, normally a party-line vote, is signaling bipartisan concern over the Jack Smith investigation and DOJ access to lawmakers’ messages. GOP- and Dem-led questions surface about norms, safeguards, and potential political bias. https://t.co/3r9OeQvB42 pic.twitter.com/mzo3A90Wmt

— Drew Grimaldi (@Grimillionaire) July 16, 2026

Groups such as the Project On Government Oversight have previously called for investigations into possible Justice Department lies to Congress, underscoring long-running worries that the department sometimes misleads lawmakers without facing real consequences. For many Americans, this pattern feeds the belief that there is one system for insiders and another for everyone else. The Blanche–Smith clash fits that pattern: a powerful prosecutor is now under scrutiny, but people on both the right and the left wonder if any investigation will be serious or if Washington will once again protect its own.