{"id":95644,"date":"2026-07-14T18:19:44","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T22:19:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/jack-smith-reviewed-texts-from-44-lawmakers-during-trump-probe-gop-senators-reveal\/"},"modified":"2026-07-14T18:19:44","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T22:19:44","slug":"jack-smith-reviewed-texts-from-44-lawmakers-during-trump-probe-gop-senators-reveal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/jack-smith-reviewed-texts-from-44-lawmakers-during-trump-probe-gop-senators-reveal\/","title":{"rendered":"Jack Smith Reviewed Texts from 44 Lawmakers During Trump Probe, GOP Senators Reveal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n

Two Republican senators are revealing that former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigative team obtained and reviewed text messages belonging to 44 members of Congress \u2014 both Republicans and Democrats \u2014 as part of his probe into President Donald Trump’s efforts to reverse the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.<\/p>

The text messages were gathered through subpoenas directed at the National Archives and Records Administration. Those subpoenas targeted communications sent from government-issued phones used by Trump and several of his top advisers and officials during a period stretching from October 2020 through the end of his first term in January 2021.<\/p>

According to Republican Senators Chuck Grassley \u2014 who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee \u2014 and Ron Johnson \u2014 who leads a Senate investigative panel \u2014 the records Smith’s team obtained included texts that 40 Republican lawmakers and four Democratic lawmakers had exchanged with Trump administration officials.<\/p>

Among the officials whose communications were swept up in the investigation were Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows and then-Vice President Mike Pence. Pence notably refused Trump’s pressure to block Congress from certifying the 2020 election results.<\/p>

The revelations highlight just how broadly Smith’s team cast its net while investigating both Trump’s attempts to reverse his loss to Democrat Joe Biden and alleged mishandling of classified documents at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort during the Biden administration. Both of those cases were dismissed after Trump secured victory in the 2024 election.<\/p>

Grassley made the records public the day before Todd Blanche \u2014 who served as Trump’s defense attorney in both of Smith’s cases \u2014 was scheduled to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee for a hearing on his nomination to serve as attorney general.<\/p>

Trump administration Justice Department officials have been sharing a range of documents with Grassley as the president’s allies push the argument that Smith’s investigations were politically motivated and captured sensitive information that had no bearing on the cases.<\/p>

“Jack Smith has answering to do, and I intend to have him before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the coming months to hold him accountable,” Grassley said in a written statement.<\/p>

A spokesperson for Smith did not respond to a request for comment on the disclosures. Smith has previously argued \u2014 both in court documents and in public testimony \u2014 that his investigations followed Justice Department guidelines and were free from political influence.<\/p>

Grassley also alleged that one of Smith’s prosecutors may have violated internal Justice Department protocol by reviewing the congressional records before a separate screening team could evaluate them for potential legal privileges. That filter team was established to flag materials covered by attorney-client privilege, not to protect communications involving members of Congress.<\/p>

This is not the first disclosure of its kind from Grassley. He previously revealed that Smith had obtained call logs from certain Republican senators around the time of the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Reuters has also reported that FBI Director Kash Patel and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles had their phone records subpoenaed as part of the classified documents investigation.<\/p>

Subpoenaing phone records is a routine step in federal criminal investigations. Smith previously told a House committee that obtaining lawmakers’ phone records was necessary to fully investigate Trump’s campaign to block certification of his 2020 election defeat.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team accessed text messages from 44 members of Congress \u2014 40 Republicans and four Democrats \u2014 during the investigation into Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Two Republican senators disclosed the information, raising questions about the scope of the investigation. Both of Smith’s cases against Trump were ultimately dropped after Trump won the 2024 presidential election.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":95643,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[833],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-95644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/news-1784067584715.jpg?fit=450%2C300&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbtNqq-oSE","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":41637,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/documents-reveal-broader-fbi-probe-of-current-director-kash-patel\/","url_meta":{"origin":95644,"position":0},"title":"Documents Reveal Broader FBI Probe of Current Director Kash Patel","author":"Admin","date":"March 24, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"New court documents show Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation of current FBI Director Kash Patel was more comprehensive than initially known, spanning over two years of records. The probe sought extensive phone, financial, and digital records as part of investigations into 2020 election interference and classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.","rel":"","context":"In "Politics"","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/news-1774348616372.jpg?fit=450%2C300&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":27358,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/fbi-secretly-collected-phone-records-of-trump-allies-during-investigation\/","url_meta":{"origin":95644,"position":1},"title":"FBI Secretly Collected Phone Records of Trump Allies During Investigation","author":"Admin","date":"February 25, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The FBI obtained phone records from current FBI Director Kash Patel and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles when they were private citizens during the federal investigation of Donald Trump. Patel revealed the subpoenas occurred in 2022 and 2023 as part of Special Counsel Jack Smith's probe into classified\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Politics"","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/news-1772057958161.jpg?fit=450%2C300&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":36371,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/federal-judge-halts-doj-subpoenas-targeting-fed-chair-powell-in-criminal-probe\/","url_meta":{"origin":95644,"position":2},"title":"Federal Judge Halts DOJ Subpoenas Targeting Fed Chair Powell in Criminal Probe","author":"Admin","date":"March 13, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"A federal judge has blocked Justice Department subpoenas in a criminal investigation targeting Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell over building renovations. The judge ruled there was insufficient evidence of wrongdoing and suggested the probe was politically motivated to pressure Powell.","rel":"","context":"In "Politics"","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/news-1773433367945.jpg?fit=450%2C300&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":57078,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/doj-closes-criminal-investigation-into-fed-chair-powell-over-building-costs\/","url_meta":{"origin":95644,"position":3},"title":"DOJ Closes Criminal Investigation Into Fed Chair Powell Over Building Costs","author":"Admin","date":"April 24, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The Department of Justice has dropped its criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell regarding alleged misstatements about expensive headquarters renovations. The probe, which began last November, was criticized as an attempt to undermine Fed independence and intimidate the central bank into cutting interest rates.","rel":"","context":"In "Politics"","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1777062502986.jpg?fit=450%2C300&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":56894,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/doj-ends-powell-investigation-paving-way-for-fed-chair-confirmation\/","url_meta":{"origin":95644,"position":4},"title":"DOJ Ends Powell Investigation, Paving Way for Fed Chair Confirmation","author":"Admin","date":"April 24, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The Justice Department has concluded its criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, removing a key obstacle to confirming his nominated successor Kevin Warsh. The probe into Fed building renovations found no evidence of wrongdoing and will be transferred to the Fed's inspector general.","rel":"","context":"In "Politics"","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1777044420815.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1777044420815.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1777044420815.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1777044420815.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":36383,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/federal-judge-blocks-doj-subpoenas-in-fed-chair-powell-investigation\/","url_meta":{"origin":95644,"position":5},"title":"Federal Judge Blocks DOJ Subpoenas in Fed Chair Powell Investigation","author":"Admin","date":"March 13, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"A federal judge has thrown out Justice Department subpoenas targeting Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, calling the investigation lacking in evidence and designed to pressure Powell. The ruling comes as the probe has stalled Senate confirmation of Trump's Fed nominee Kevin Warsh.","rel":"","context":"In "Politics"","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/politics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/news-1773434315599.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/news-1773434315599.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/news-1773434315599.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/news-1773434315599.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95644","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95644"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95644\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/95643"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}