Former Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation into President Donald Trump swept up text messages from 44 members of Congress, bypassing a required review process in what Republican senators call an abuse of power. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and Senate Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Ron Johnson, R-Wis., jointly released their findings Tuesday evening as part of a broader probe into Operation Arctic Frost — the codename for Smith's investigation into alleged corruption and election interference.
The text messages were obtained through a process that circumvented the filter team's protocol. That team is typically tasked with reviewing documents to determine relevance before prosecutors can access them, a safeguard meant to protect privilege and civil liberties. Grassley said investigators "apparently ignored their own routine investigative protocols."
What the Right Is Saying
Republicans quickly condemned what they characterized as executive overreach. "Jack Smith's criminal investigation of President Trump was a runaway train that had no brakes," Grassley said Tuesday.
Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., whose texts were swept up in the review, called it a clear violation of the Constitution's Speech & Debate Clause — which protects lawmakers from being questioned outside the Capitol for legislative acts. "Smith's team unlawfully and unconstitutionally accessed my private text messages, along with 43 other Members of Congress," she said in a statement.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., called for criminal prosecution of those involved. "Joe Biden's DOJ not only tapped my phone; I just learned they illegally obtained my texts with members of President Trump's administration," he posted on social media.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., described the allegations as a "blatant abuse of power and exactly what our Founders warned about." Johnson called it a "grotesque example" of Biden-era weaponization of the executive branch. Grassley indicated he plans to recall Smith before Congress to testify about the findings.
What the Left Is Saying
Several Democrats were among those whose texts were swept up in the review, according to filings released by Republicans. Affected Democratic members include now-Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, and Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee.
Grassley said he hopes Democrats caught up in what he called an otherwise bipartisan text tranche will "finally discard their partisanship" and recognize the severity of the alleged violations. As of publication, Democratic members cited in the report had not issued public statements responding to the allegations. This is a developing story and responses may be forthcoming.
What the Numbers Show
Forty-four members of Congress had their text messages obtained and reviewed by Smith's team in a manner that bypassed protocol, according to Republican filings. The filter team should have been the first to review documents for relevance before prosecutors accessed them — a process also meant to protect attorney-client privilege.
The texts came from nearly 50 lawmakers total when including other communications, Republicans said. Among those swept up were Sens. Mike Lee of Utah, Dan Sullivan of Alaska, and former Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, along with House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio, former House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes of California, and current EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin.
Under oath during prior depositions, Smith answered "no" when asked by congressional counsel whether records he requested from congresspeople included text messages — a detail Republicans say complicates his prior sworn testimony. This has not been independently verified by Political Bytes.
The Bottom Line
The disclosure adds to Republican efforts to characterize the Biden-era Trump investigations as politically motivated overreach. Grassley and Johnson are leading Senate probes they describe as revealing conduct "worse than Watergate."
Whether Democrats join in those characterizations remains to be seen, given that several of their own members were also swept up in the text reviews. The bipartisan nature of the affected lawmakers — spanning from progressive members like Booker to conservatives like Paul — may complicate simple partisan narratives.
What happens next: Grassley has indicated he will seek to recall Smith for congressional testimony. The Justice Department under Trump is providing records to senators investigating the matter. Watch for any Democratic response and whether committee Democrats join Republican oversight efforts.