Rep. Jim Jordan looks on during a hearing with the House Judiciary Committee on Sept. 3, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
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.
John Brennan, former CIA director, appears on "Meet the Press" in Washington, D.C., Sunday, April 15, 2018. (William B. Plowman/NBC/NBC Newswire/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
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.
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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."
Ashley Oliver is a reporter for Fox News Digital and FOX Business, covering the Justice Department and legal affairs. Email story tips to ashley.oliver@fox.com.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/house-republican-chairman-refers-jack-smiths-former-deputy-doj-prosecution