House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan took a necessary step on December 3, 2025, when he issued a subpoena requiring former Special Counsel Jack Smith to appear for a closed-door deposition on December 17 and to produce documents by December 12. This is oversight, plain and simple — Congress has a duty to investigate how federal power was used against American citizens and elected officials. Republicans on the Judiciary Committee are simply asking for answers; no one is above scrutiny.
Jack Smith wasn’t just any prosecutor; he led the Justice Department’s probes into the events surrounding January 6, 2021, and the classified documents at Mar-a-Lago — cases that culminated in indictments but were later dropped after President Trump won re-election in November 2024, consistent with longstanding DOJ policy about indicting a sitting president. Those are serious actions that changed lives and altered the political landscape, and Americans deserve to understand the legal and factual basis for them. Accountability isn’t partisan theater; it’s the safeguard of liberty when government agencies overreach.
Smith’s team offered to appear publicly weeks ago, yet House Republicans opted for a closed deposition — a move that drew criticism from Smith’s counsel who said the American people were being denied a public airing. If Smith truly wants to clear the air, there will be plenty of time to do so under oath in a formal setting; his lawyers have indicated he will comply with the committee’s request. The key point is transparency under oath, not media spin or selective leaks that benefit partisan opponents.
The subpoena is also necessary because of revelations from the so-called Arctic Frost investigation, where grand-jury subpoenas reportedly captured phone toll records and metadata tied to Republican lawmakers and conservative groups — a sweep that understandably looks like a weaponized dragnet to many Americans. When federal probes reach into the communications of senators and party organizations without clear public justification, it’s not paranoid to demand an explanation; it’s patriotic. Oversight isn’t revenge — it’s protection against a politicized Department of Justice that must be restrained and reformed.
Patriotic Americans should applaud the committee for doing what voters sent them to do: defend constitutional limits and insist on answers. If the DOJ and its agents acted within the law, they should welcome scrutiny and clear their names; if they strayed, those responsible must face consequences. Former prosecutors and special counsels don’t get to operate as a permanent political class above the law — and Jim Jordan’s subpoena is a crucial step toward restoring the rule of law and the trust of the American people.
