House Judiciary Committee subpoenaed a prosecutor who worked with Jack Smith on the investigation against Trump

The House Judiciary Committee subpoenaed a member of the team that worked with Jack Smith to investigate Donald Trump. He is Thomas Windom, who served as deputy special prosecutor in cases involving the withholding of classified documents and the alleged attempt to "reverse" the results of the 2020 presidential election.

As for Windom's work with Smith, The New York Times described him as "the man helping drive the investigation into Trump's push to keep power." While Windom already appeared in mid-June, Republicans found his testimony to be evasive and unsatisfactory. He made that known in a document released by the committee he chairs. According to the subpoena, the former deputy special prosecutor must return to Capitol Hill next Sept. 30.

On June 12, 2025, during your transcribed interview with the Committee, you declined to answer multiple questions on the basis that the Department had not authorized testimony about those topics. You also declined to answer several questions, asserting that your answers would implicate Rule 6(e) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure (FRCP). The Committee is not persuaded by either your assertion that the

Department’s authorization is a necessary precondition for your testimony or your overly expansive interpretation of Rule 6(e)," Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said in a letter to Winton.

As for the aforementioned Rule 6(e), it establishes the degree of secrecy of testimony before a grand jury. Under the current rule, only protected material could be disclosed without a judge's express authorization, even in front of Congress. However, both Jordan and Republicans on the committee understand that Windom has too loose an interpretation of the rule, accentuating that he refused to answer even for situations that are not covered by Rule 6(e).

"Therefore, due to your refusal to answer these questions during your voluntary transcribed interview, the Committee has decided to issue a compulsory process to obtain your testimony about these matters," Jordan added.

The effort is part of the 'Weaponization Working Group,' which was created by Republicans when they regained control of the House in January 2023. Within the Judiciary Committee, its members are dedicated to investigating cases in which federal agencies, such as the Department of Justice (DOJ) or the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), have been used for purely political purposes. It was a response to the court cases that Trump faced during the Biden Administration.