FBI Targeted Kash Patel’s Phone Data During Trump Inquiry

By Staff, Agencies

The FBI subpoenaed phone records of current FBI Director Kash Patel and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles in 2022 and 2023, when both were private citizens, as part of the Jack Smith investigation into US President Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents, Patel told Reuters.

Patel said the subpoenas were part of the federal probe into Trump’s alleged 2020 election interference and retention of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, led by Special Counsel Jack Smith, appointed in November 2022.

Reuters reported it could not independently verify several aspects of Patel’s claims, including the full scope and timing of the phone records obtained or the rationale behind the move.

Patel said investigators subpoenaed “toll records” — which show call times and recipients but not content — a process permitted under US law without judicial approval, around the time Special Counsel Jack Smith was leading the probe into Trump’s alleged retention of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago and obstruction of federal efforts to recover them.

In 2022, Patel said Trump had declassified the Mar-a-Lago documents, a claim disputed by prosecutors, and later testified before a grand jury under limited immunity.

Patel called the subpoenas of his and Susie Wiles’ phone records during the Biden administration “outrageous” and “deeply alarming,” accusing the previous FBI leadership of using flimsy pretexts and hiding the records in “Prohibited” files.

He said the collection extended into Wiles’ time as Trump’s 2024 campaign co-manager and that after becoming FBI director in 2025, he ended the bureau’s ability to label files as prohibited. Two officials said a 2023 call between Wiles and her attorney was recorded with the attorney’s consent but without Wiles’ knowledge.

At least 10 FBI employees were dismissed over the targeting of Patel, Wiles, and others in the Trump classified documents probe, officials said. Democrats defended Special Counsel Jack Smith, who told Congress the office followed legal rules and used call records — without content — to verify the January 6 timeline.

In 2023, Smith charged Trump with felonies over the classified documents case, but the charges were later dismissed and Smith dropped his appeal after Trump’s reelection; Trump denies any wrongdoing.

A federal judge recently blocked the Justice Department from releasing Smith’s report, and Smith told Congress court orders limit what he can discuss. Key questions remain about the scope of records obtained, who approved the subpoenas, and whether Patel or Wiles were formal targets.