Republican senators say the FBI in 2023 analyzed phone records of more than a half dozen GOP lawmakers as part of an investigation into efforts by President Trump to overturn the 2020 election [seattletimes.com#1][cbsnews.com#3][scmp.com#2]. According to those senators, investigators saw only basic call information — dates and times — for several days during the week of January 6, 2021, and did not access call content [seattletimes.com#1][cbsnews.com#3][scmp.com#2]. A document describing the activity was turned over to Congress and publicly released on Monday by Sen. Chuck Grassley, prompting fresh scrutiny and oversight discussions [nypost.com#5].
Highlights:
- What investigators saw: Lawmakers say the records showed call dates and times only, not content [seattletimes.com#1][cbsnews.com#3][scmp.com#2].
- Time window: The data covered several days during the week of January 6, 2021 [scmp.com#2].
- Who was named: Reports named Sens. Blackburn, Graham, Hawley, Hagerty, Johnson, Lummis, Sullivan, Tuberville, and Rep. Mike Kelly [alternet.org#6].
- Transparency move: A document outlining the phone-data review was released publicly on Monday by Sen. Chuck Grassley [nypost.com#5].
- Probe context: The review occurred within an investigation into efforts by President Trump to overturn the 2020 election results [seattletimes.com#1][cbsnews.com#3][scmp.com#2].
Perspectives:
- Republican senators: They say the FBI analyzed phone records of more than a half dozen GOP lawmakers in 2023 as part of the Trump 2020 election investigation. (CBS News)
- Jamie Dupree, Capitol Hill journalist: He argued investigators had reason to track activity, pointing to video showing Trump aides handing Rep. Mike Kelly fake elector documents and attempts to route them to Sen. Ron Johnson. (Alternet)
Sources:
- FBI analyzed phone records of senators as part of Trump Jan. 6 probe, lawmakers say – seattletimes.com
- FBI ‘analysed phone records of senators’ as part of Trump January 6 probe – scmp.com
- FBI analyzed some Republican lawmakers' phone records as part of Trump Jan. 6 probe – cbsnews.com
- Jack Smith Spied on 8 GOP Senators, Grassley Reveals – pjmedia.com
- Biden FBI spied on eight GOP senators, damning new doc claims: ‘Arguably worse than Watergate’ – nypost.com
- 'Start with the top': What Fox missed in new report on Jack Smith tracking GOP lawmakers – alternet.org
