{"id":1034,"date":"2026-07-16T09:08:53","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T09:08:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/?p=1034"},"modified":"2026-07-16T09:08:53","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T09:08:53","slug":"doj-records-jack-smiths-team-secretly-accessed-texts-of-44-lawmakers-in-trump-probe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/?p=1034","title":{"rendered":"DOJ Records: Jack Smith\u2019s Team Secretly Accessed Texts of 44 Lawmakers in Trump Probe"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The Justice Department has confirmed that former Special Counsel Jack Smith\u2019s investigators secretly obtained and reviewed private text messages belonging to 44 members of Congress while pursuing criminal charges against President Donald Trump, according to records the department turned over to the Senate Judiciary Committee this week.<\/p>\n

Read more Morning Greatness: Trump to Address the Nation Thursday Evening<\/a><\/p>\n

The revelation, made public Tuesday by the committee, shows Smith\u2019s team sidestepped standard filtering safeguards meant to shield lawmakers\u2019 communications from prosecutors, a move critics say tramples on the Constitution\u2019s separation of powers.<\/p>\n

Of the 44 lawmakers whose messages were reviewed, 40 are Republicans and four are Democrats, according to the Judiciary Committee.<\/p>\n

The Constitution\u2019s Speech or Debate Clause shields members of Congress from being \u201cquestioned in any other Place\u201d for actions tied to their legislative work, protecting them from executive branch overreach. The Judiciary Committee said in its release that lawmakers\u2019 official communications \u201care protected from criminal prosecution\u201d under that clause.<\/p>\n

Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, obtained the records after whistleblowers came forward with protected disclosures, prompting the senators to formally request documents from the department.<\/p>\n

Grassley, whose own messages were caught up in the review, said Biden administration investigators \u201capparently ignored their own routine investigative protocols\u201d to sweep up communications from him and colleagues on both sides of the aisle.<\/p>\n

The records show the Biden Justice Department had set up a \u201cFilter Team\u201d specifically to screen materials gathered during Smith\u2019s overlapping investigations\u2014the Jan. 6 inquiry, code-named \u201cProject Coconut\u201d; the Mar-a-Lago documents case, \u201cProject Cranberry\u201d; and the broader \u201cArctic Frost\u201d probe into 2020 election challenges. Investigators are alleged to have bypassed that safeguard, reviewing the texts before the filter process was complete.<\/p>\n

Read more The International Court of Justice\u2019s Climate Power Grab<\/a><\/p>\n

The messages were obtained through a subpoena to the National Archives covering phone records from October 2020 to Jan. 20, 2021, turned over in August 2023. Phones tied to numerous Trump-era officials were swept in, including those of Trump himself, Stephen Miller, Rudy Giuliani, Kellyanne Conway, Peter Navarro, Ivanka Trump, Mark Meadows and former Vice President Mike Pence.<\/p>\n

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., called the episode \u201ca blatant abuse of power,\u201d and noted Smith testified under oath in a December deposition that his team had not reviewed lawmakers\u2019 texts\u2014testimony Paul suggested the new records contradict.<\/p>\n

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said he learned the Biden administration \u201cILLEGALLY obtained\u201d his texts and said \u201cEveryone involved needs to be PROSECUTED.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., said several colleagues, including Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., were also targeted, warning that unchecked surveillance of lawmakers sets a precedent for ordinary Americans. \u201cThese individuals who engaged in that type of behavior absolutely need to be held accountable,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Grassley said he intends to call Smith before the Judiciary Committee, urging Democrats \u201cto put partisanship aside and recognize the severity of these actions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Class Warfare<\/a><\/p>\n

Smith never secured a conviction against Trump before leaving office.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Justice Department has confirmed that former Special Counsel Jack Smith\u2019s investigators secretly obtained and reviewed private text messages belonging to 44\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1033,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nDOJ Records: Jack Smith\u2019s Team Secretly Accessed Texts of 44 Lawmakers in Trump Probe - Urban Economy news<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/urbaneconomynews.com\/?p=1034\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"DOJ Records: Jack Smith\u2019s Team Secretly Accessed Texts of 44 Lawmakers in Trump Probe - 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