Jack Smith told Congress his team did not look at the contents of lawmakers’ text messages.
Newly released Justice Department records are now putting that answer under a white-hot spotlight.
The documents show that a filter team working inside the former special counsel’s office viewed communications between Trump White House personnel and 44 members of Congress from both parties during Smith’s investigation into President Trump.
The messages covered a politically explosive stretch between October 2020 and Jan. 20, 2021, encompassing the presidential election, Trump’s challenges to the result, the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and the final days of his first administration.
The Justice Department released the records Tuesday to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and Sen. Ron Johnson, according to the senators.
The newly identified lawmakers include Democrats and Republicans.
Sen. Cory Booker, House Armed Services Committee ranking member Adam Smith, former Rep. Karen Bass and former Rep. Lee Zeldin were among those whose communications with White House personnel were reviewed.
The records also involved Grassley, Sens. Susan Collins and Tom Cotton, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Rep. Elise Stefanik.
Republicans immediately seized on the disclosure, accusing Smith’s operation of trampling constitutional protections and misleading Congress about the investigation’s reach.
During a December 2025 congressional deposition, Smith was asked whether his team looked at “the content of text messages” during its investigations of Trump.
“No,” Smith answered.
The newly released records create an apparent conflict with that testimony, though they also expose a potentially important technical distinction.
The special counsel’s office used a separate “Filter Team” to review material obtained from the National Archives and Records Administration. Such teams are designed to screen out privileged or constitutionally protected communications before investigators receive evidence.
The records indicate members of that filter operation viewed lawmakers’ messages. Based on the information released, it remains unclear whether Smith’s “No” referred only to the primary prosecution team or whether he meant nobody working within the special counsel’s broader operation reviewed the contents.
Republicans are demanding answers.
“This is yet another grotesque example of the Biden administration’s weaponization of the Justice Department,” Johnson said. “At this point, no one should be shocked by Jack Smith’s recklessness and blatant abuse of power, but they should be outraged.”
Grassley’s office had previously disclosed that investigators subpoenaed records connected to 430 Republican people or organizations. The investigation also obtained phone logs involving more than a dozen GOP lawmakers.
Grassley called the operation a “fishing expedition.”
The addition of Democratic lawmakers to the list broadens the scope of the controversy. It shows that Smith’s office encountered congressional communications crossing party lines, even though the investigation centered on Trump and efforts to challenge the 2020 election.
Full report over at The New York Post:
Jack Smith team read messages between Trump officials, dozens of lawmakers of both parties: 'Ran roughshod over the Constitution' https://t.co/srionOMBwm pic.twitter.com/VvAQ9K4XUS
— New York Post (@nypost) July 14, 2026
