BS BULLETIN:
- Newly declassified records describe FBI tracking of Susie Wiles’ phone contacts during the Trump classified-documents investigation.
- Reporting identifies contacts with 21 defense attorneys and at least five journalists.
- Catherine Herridge highlighted the surveillance and senior officials’ approval of the underlying probe. The records concern call data, not recordings of conversations.
Catherine Herridge is putting newly declassified records in front of Americans who were repeatedly assured that the Trump investigations were simply about following the evidence.
The records, released through the White House Government Transparency Task Force, describe an FBI investigation called “Plasmic Echo” that examined Trump’s handling of classified documents. Among the methods disclosed: tracking phone contacts involving Susie Wiles, Trump’s campaign leader and now his White House chief of staff.
According to The Daily Signal’s reporting, those contacts included 21 defense attorneys, at least five journalists and political advisers. Investigators used a pen register to collect information such as phone numbers and call times. That distinction matters: these records describe monitoring who communicated, rather than listening to what they said.
Knowing who a campaign chief calls — particularly around an FBI interview — can still reveal plenty.
Herridge highlighted records describing investigators reviewing Wiles’ phone activity to identify contacts around her interview. An unnamed administration official called the methods “intrusive tactics”; a former senior FBI agent characterized the pattern as a “tickle the wire” operation — contact someone, then examine whom that person contacts next.
She also pointed to a heavily redacted approval memo bearing senior officials’ initials and a recommendation from then-Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco: “Merrick, I recommend you approve.” The memo dates to March 2022, before Jack Smith became special counsel. The underlying investigation began before Smith later took it over.
At a September 29 Senate Judiciary hearing, Smith acknowledged collecting financial information and defended issuing subpoenas for a criminal investigation. Chairman Chuck Grassley challenged the acquisition of thousands of donor checks and the resulting collection of private banking information.
The new records warrant questions about investigative necessity, scope and safeguards.
MY QUICK TAKE:
Folks, “we only collected the call data” is not going to end this discussion.
When the government maps a presidential campaign leader’s contacts with defense lawyers, journalists and advisers, Americans deserve a clear explanation. What justified it? What limits applied? Who reviewed the information? How were sensitive contacts protected?
Those questions do not disappear because the target was Donald Trump.
Imagine Republican investigators collecting comparable records from a Democratic campaign chief. I suspect the television panels would suddenly discover a deep and abiding affection for civil liberties.
Herridge deserves credit for putting the documents where people can examine them. Now the officials responsible should explain their decisions with the same specificity.
“Trust the process” has had plenty of airtime. Let’s see the authorizations, the safeguards and the answers.
DBS WIRE SOURCES:
- Twitchy: Herridge’s reporting and excerpts from the declassified records
- The Daily Signal: Wiles’ contacts with attorneys, journalists and advisers
- White House: Plasmic Echo summary and document download
- Fox News via WFIN: Investigation timeline and call-data distinction
- Senate Judiciary Committee: Grassley’s questions and Smith’s responses
