New DOJ records fuel claims Jack Smith team reviewed lawmakers' texts in Trump probe

WASHINGTON,DC: A newly disclosed set of Justice Department records has opened a fresh chapter in the debate surrounding former Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation into President Donald Trump.

The documents released on Tuesday, July 14 suggest that communications involving dozens of members of Congress were reviewed during the probe, prompting Republicans to accuse Smith's office of stretching its investigative authority far beyond its intended limits.

The revelations have reignited questions about investigative safeguards, congressional privilege and whether established Justice Department procedures were properly followed.

Jack Smith team obtained White House phone data 

The controversy stems from records recently provided by the Department of Justice to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley.

According to the documents, investigators handling the Trump investigation obtained White House phone data that contained text message exchanges involving 44 lawmakers from both political parties.

Among those whose communications reportedly appeared in the records were Senator Cory Booker, Representative Adam Smith and former Congressman Lee Zeldin, who now serves as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

The communications reportedly covered the period between October 2020 and January 20, 2021, when investigators were examining events surrounding the 2020 presidential election and Trump's final weeks in office.

Reacting to the records, Grassley accused Smith's investigation of ignoring routine Justice Department safeguards.

He argued that investigators reviewed work-related communications belonging to lawmakers from both parties who were never targets of the criminal investigation, calling the development deeply concerning regardless of political affiliation.

Grassley also suggested Democratic lawmakers whose messages were included should view the issue as one involving institutional protections rather than partisan politics.

The text messages surfaced during two separate federal investigations that focused on different aspects of Trump's post-election conduct.

One inquiry examined efforts to challenge or overturn the results of the 2020 election, while another centered on classified documents recovered from Mar-a-Lago.

Because investigators expected that the data could contain attorney-client or other legally protected communications, the Justice Department had created a dedicated "Filter Team" whose role was to separate privileged material before prosecutors handling the main investigation could review it.

Direct access to lawmakers' phones raises alarms

The newly released records have shifted attention away from what investigators collected to how they handled the material.

An internal Justice Department email dated August 21, 2023, reportedly discussed obtaining dozens of Excel files containing text messages from White House phones and placing them in a shared database.

According to Assistant Attorney General Patrick Davis, the records indicate members of Jack Smith's investigative team accessed the files directly instead of waiting for the Filter Team to complete its review.

The FBI later worked to identify the individuals connected to the phone numbers contained in those messages.

That sequence has become the central issue raised by Grassley and other Republicans.