WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
- Jack Smith’s investigators obtained records containing communications between nearly 50 journalists and Trump administration officials.
- The National Archives produced records associated with 87 White House phones after receiving a subpoena.
- Senate Judiciary Republicans said investigators collected nearly 5,000 personal checks from Trump donors across all 50 states.
- Chuck Grassley condemned the collection of donor information and challenged Senate Democrats to join his outrage.
Former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigators obtained records containing communications between nearly 50 journalists and Trump administration officials, according to information revealed ahead of a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, as reported by The Gateway Pundit.
The records included communications involving Fox News personnel and journalists from numerous other major outlets.
Fox News Digital reported that the investigators obtained the material after subpoenaing text message records associated with dozens of White House phones during the federal election investigation of President Donald Trump.
The sprawling collection covered records linked to 87 White House phones from Trump’s first administration.
The National Archives produced the communications in response to the subpoena, according to a spokesperson for Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, Republican of Iowa.
The spokesperson cited whistleblower disclosures that had been provided to Grassley.
Fox News was among the news organizations whose journalists appeared in the records. CNN, CBS News, the CBS news magazine “60 Minutes,” NBC News and CNBC were also included in the disclosed material.
FREE Gun Law Map: Laws Don't Pause During Social Unrest
The records further contained communications involving journalists from the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Bloomberg, Los Angeles Times, New York Magazine, Reuters, the Associated Press and NPR. Journalists connected to The Federalist and Washington Times also appeared in the records.
The journalist communications were only one part of the revelations surrounding Smith and his investigators.
Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans also revealed that Smith’s team collected nearly 5,000 personal checks from Americans who donated to Trump and groups aligned with him.
The checks covered donations made between September 2019 and August 2023.
According to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Smith and his team acquired them as part of the “Arctic Frost” election case.
That collection gave the Biden Justice Department and the FBI access to sensitive information belonging to nearly 5,000 Americans across all 50 states.
BREAKING: Records provided to Chairman @ChuckGrassley via whistleblower disclosure reveal Jack Smith and his team collected 4,782 personal checks from Americans nationwide who donated to Trump and Trump-aligned entities between September 2019 to August 2023. pic.twitter.com/zNWs7PkpE7
— Senate Judiciary Republicans (@SenJudiciaryGOP) September 29, 2026
The information contained on personal checks can include addresses, bank account numbers, bank routing numbers, and signatures.
The disclosed material may not represent the full scope of the donor records collected during the investigation.
According to the report, additional subpoena returns might contain still more checks from Trump donors.
Grassley confronted Smith over the collection while discussing the revelations. He argued that there was no legitimate investigative justification for gathering donations made to Republican organizations.
“There’s no legitimate basis for what you did. Especially since your staff killed an investigation into the Clinton campaign,” Grassley said.
Grassley also pointed to the absence of the Republican donations from Smith’s public report.
MORE NEWS: Ana Navarro Pushes The View Audience to Back Democrat and Oust Florida Republican [WATCH]
“Donations to Republican groups wasn’t necessary to your investigation, which is proved out by the fact it wasn’t mentioned in your public report.”
The Iowa senator then detailed the sensitive personal and financial information that federal authorities will retain.
“Now, the Justice Department and FBI will forever possess thousands of people’s addresses, phone numbers, banks, bank account numbers, bank routing numbers and copies of their true signatures.”
Grassley said the consequences extend directly to constituents represented by members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“Every member on this committee ought to be outraged for what happened to their constituents.”
He closed his criticism by challenging Democrats on the committee to condemn what happened. “Which one of my Democratic colleagues will join me in that outrage?”
The disclosures placed both the journalist communications and Trump donor records under fresh scrutiny as Smith appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The material described an investigation that swept up communications from nearly 50 journalists and sensitive financial information connected to thousands of Americans nationwide.
The opinions expressed by contributors and/or content partners are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of BoredTrashPanda.com. Contact us for guidelines on submitting your own commentary.
Join the Discussion
COMMENTS POLICY: We have no tolerance for messages of violence, racism, vulgarity, obscenity or other such discourteous behavior. Thank you for contributing to a respectful and useful online dialogue.