Jim Jordan threatens to subpoena Jack Smith for deposition, change FISA rules

House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan declared on Wednesday night that he would subpoena former Special Counsel Jack Smith if he does not voluntarily sit for a deposition after two of his deputies took the Fifth in recent interviews.

Jordan also floated making changes to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which is up for reauthorization at the end of the year, that would make it harder for the feds to get access to private data.

The comments come after recent documents showed that the Biden administration's FBI opened an investigation into President Donald Trump and hundreds of his allies over their Jan. 6 activities with weak evidence. 

Smith has stated that he would like to set the record straight on his two controversial investigations and Jordan has sent a letter inviting Smith to testify before his committee.

"We want to talk to him," Jordan said on the Just the News, No Noise television show. "We will use everything we have to get this guy, and we want to get all this information and talk to him in a deposition format, and then we'll decide if we're going to do some public hearing. 

"But we want the same documents that are now starting to come forward," he continued. "We want to take a chance to look at all this and ask him in a deposition format about this stuff."

Jordan also stated that he was looking at how to protect American liberties moving forward, after it was revealed that Smith subpoenaed phone records and geolocations of private citizens and members of Congress. 

One way Jordan said he could protect Americans is through reforms to FISA, a 1978 law which establishes federal procedures for the surveillance and collection of foreign intelligence on U.S. soil.

"We're supposed to protect your building," Jordan said. "The rights you have under the bill of rights, the rights you have under the First Amendment, Fourth Amendment, Second Amendment, all those key liberties we have in this greatest country ever. That's supposed to be our focus. 

"We know the FISA process was abused in numerous ways over the years," Jordan continued. "If you're going to go search the 702 database as an example, you got to go to a separate and equal branch of government and get a probable cause warrant. You can't just go looking through there."

Jordan said the process was abused in Smith's investigation by issuing subpoenas without strong evidence to support it, including subpoenas for people like White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino.

"Why [do] you need his bank records? What is going on?" Jordan said. "What was the probable cause that said somehow Dan Scavino is engaged in criminal activity, and we need to see his bank records. That makes no sense."

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.