The team of former special counsel Jack Smith accessed text messages from 44 members of Congress from both parties as part of investigations into former President Donald Trump, according to records released by the Department of Justice. Republicans have denounced the move, with Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa calling it an action that "ran roughshod over the Constitution."
The communications reviewed were between White House personnel and lawmakers, and were sought by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). The period covered was from October 2020 to January 20, 2021. The special counsel's office established a "Filter Team" to ensure that privileged documents were not accessed during the review.
However, an internal DOJ email from August 21, 2023, indicated that Smith's team bypassed the Filter Team and directly accessed "54 excel files with text messages from White House phones." The FBI then identified the senders and recipients of these messages. These texts were related to two probes: "Project Coconut," examining Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election, and "Project Cranberry," concerning allegations of Trump hoarding national security documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
Among the lawmakers whose messages were viewed were Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), Representative Adam Smith (D-Wash.), and former Representative Lee Zeldin (R-NY), who now leads the Environmental Protection Agency.
Grassley stated that the Biden administration's DOJ and FBI investigators appeared to ignore their own protocols to obtain and review messages from members of Congress who were outside the scope of the investigations. He expressed hope that Democratic colleagues, some of whom also had their texts accessed, would set aside partisanship to recognize the seriousness of the actions. Grassley indicated his intention to hold Smith accountable, planning to bring him before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the coming months.