FBI Monitored Melania and Barron Trump's Travel, Tapped Key Trump Aide in Probe
Newly released documents reveal the Biden-era FBI's 'Plasmic Echo' operation tracked the former first family and surveilled future White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the Biden administration, monitored the travel of former First Lady Melania Trump and her teenage son Barron, and tapped the phone of Susie Wiles, a key aide to former President Donald Trump, according to documents made public.
These actions were part of the investigation led by former Department of Justice special counsel Jack Smith into whether Trump unlawfully retained classified documents after leaving office. The FBI's Mar-a-Lago raid occurred on August 8, 2022.
The FBI's surveillance operation, identified as 'Plasmic Echo,' involved tracing the movements of the Trump family and their associates. The FBI began wiretapping Wiles' phone in the aftermath of the Mar-a-Lago raid. At the time, Wiles was managing Trump's political operations from Palm Beach.
An email exchange between FBI agents in May 2022, included in the newly released files, indicated the agency was tracking the Trump family's travel. One agent, whose identity was redacted, wrote, "Finalize FBI understanding of FPOTUS/FLOTUS/minor son’s travel (type of aircraft and specific timeline)."
"Jack Smith’s surveillance operation was a disgraceful abuse of government power," a White House spokeswoman said in a statement. "Spying on political opponents is weaponization of law enforcement, plain and simple. Those responsible must be held accountable."
The classified documents case was later dismissed after a judge ruled that Smith's appointment as special counsel by Attorney General Merrick Garland was unlawful. Documents also indicate that former FBI Director Christopher Wray had advised Garland to approve the wiretaps.
In a May 2022 memo to Garland, Wray, who served under Trump, wrote that the probe could involve top Trump officials and "could potentially be disruptive to the democratic process if publicly disclosed prior to an election." Wray recommended Garland approve the wiretaps.
The released files also contain numerous call logs obtained by the FBI from Wiles' phone. Separately, Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee sued Smith over his access to her phone records around the time of the 2020 election, accusing Smith of unlawfully accessing records during his investigation into alleged subversion of the 2020 election.