We have been discussing the deepening scandal over former Special Counsel Jack Smith securing the phone records of members of Congress, including former Speaker of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy. Now, Fox News is reporting that the Justice Department subpoenaed the personal phone records of House Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Jordan in 2022 for a two-year period. The report may be the most serious disclosure in the controversy, given the direct oversight exercised by Jordan’s committee over Smith and the Justice Department.

Jordan has long been one of the most dogged investigators of abuse at the Justice Department and an outspoken critic of Smith.

The subpoena ordered Verizon to hand over the phone data reaching back to Jan. 1, 2020. Notably, Smith did not begin work as special counsel for another seven months after the subpoena was issued. However, the prosecutor would later work with Smith on the investigation.

The subpoena appears part of the Arctic Frost probe, which swept up the records of top Republican members in a move that many of us have criticized as an unwarranted and dangerous intrusion into the communications of the legislative branch.

Despite the efforts of members like Rep. Dan Goldman (D, NY) to downplay the gravity of such demands, they represent a serious intrusion into the confidentiality of legislators’ communications, including the potential disclosure of journalists, whistleblowers, and others. The records show who Jordan communicated with and when those calls were made. Since this was a personal number, it could also reveal embarrassing information on a member who has directed oversight functions over the Justice Department.

Other members have shown the institutional integrity and identification that others, such as Goldman, lack. Both Republican and Democratic members raised alarm over the disclosures.

Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) stated, “On the surface of it, it would strike me as a significant invasion of the right of Senators to conduct their jobs, so this is something that needs urgent follow-up.”

The subpoena sought records for multiple phone numbers and included a one-year gag order signed by a D.C. magistrate judge.

As someone who has worked closely with Congress for decades and represented the House in court, I regularly receive calls from both Democratic and Republican members. I keep these calls strictly confidential, and I am sure these members believe that they are not subject to such searches. Smith and the Justice Department shattered that belief.

The demand for these records shows a reckless disregard for long-standing rules of engagement between the branches. It shows a sense of dangerous impunity at the Justice Department that should be thoroughly and aggressively investigated by Congress.