House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan on Wednesday referred Thomas Windom, former senior assistant special counsel to Jack Smith, to the Justice Department for potential criminal prosecution, accusing the veteran prosecutor of obstructing a congressional inquiry by refusing to answer questions in a Sept. 30 deposition.
In a letter dated Nov. 19, 2025, Jordan told Attorney General Pam Bondi that Windom’s conduct “obstructed a congressional investigation,” citing his repeated refusals to provide information despite receiving written authorization from the Department of Justice to speak freely with investigators.
According to the letter, Windom “declined to answer nearly every single one of the Committee’s questions, citing various and shifting justifications,” even though DOJ twice authorized him to provide “unrestricted testimony to the Committee, irrespective of potential privilege.”
Jordan said Windom’s refusals thwarted the committee’s oversight of the Office of Special Counsel Jack Smith.
“His conduct can only be understood as an intentional effort to thwart the committee’s inquiry by improperly keeping information from the committee,” Jordan wrote in the letter to Bondi.
The committee says the prosecutor refused to answer questions about key areas of its investigation, including:
– “Knowledge of a February 2021 proposal… to investigate President [Donald] Trump and the individuals within his orbit.”
– “Interactions with and materials obtained from the January 6th Select Committee.”
– “Information related to the surveillance of Rep. Scott Perry and the seizure of his cell phone.”
– “Information related to how many other Members of Congress were investigated.”
– and “communications with FBI officials related to potential evidence in the possession of the Willard Hotel.”
Jordan also argued that Windom “asserted blanket and frivolous Fifth Amendment objections,” and repeatedly refused to clarify which privileges — if any — he was invoking.
In at least 70 instances, Windom responded: “I respectfully decline to respond for the reasons stated by my counsel,” according to the letter.
The chair wrote that Windom even refused to confirm information he had previously provided in an earlier, voluntary interview — behavior Jordan said “evidences his improper purpose of impeding the committee’s investigation.”
“We therefore believe that sufficient evidence exists for DOJ to examine whether Windom’s actions warrant a charge,” Jordan concluded, citing the federal obstruction statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1505.
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