Phone Records Subpoenaed in January 6 Investigations

This information isn’t exactly new. Back in December 2021, it was reported that a House committee investigating the January 6th events had issued subpoenas for the phone records of over 100 individuals.

Most of those targeted were officials from the Trump administration, including Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. Not entirely surprising, really. The January 6 Task Force was set up with the aim of holding President Donald Trump accountable for his alleged role in the chaos of January 6, 2021, when the Capitol was stormed.

Interestingly, there are some new developments that came to light earlier this month. The extent of the investigation might boggle the mind. Initially, it surfaced that the subpoenaed records included an astonishing 30 million lines of phone data.

When the select committee’s investigation stalled, one of its members—a former Republican representative, Adam Kinzinger from Illinois—appeared to have tipped the FBI off about certain phone data back in December 2023. This timing was significant, as Trump was emerging as a frontrunner for the 2024 Republican nomination.

Investigative Layers

Perhaps more startling than the sheer number of phone records collected by the January 6 committee was the information indicating that the FBI was also monitoring these records—and potentially more—to go after Trump and his conservative supporters. The agency didn’t just focus on Trump; it also targeted nine Republican Congressional members, attempting to pinpoint anyone associated with the so-called coup that never unfolded.

There’s still some ambiguity regarding whether the FBI accessed the same phone records as the January 6 committee. An FBI memo released by Senator Chuck Grassley hinted that by September 2023, the agency was eyeing Senators like Lindsey Graham and Bill Hagerty, among others. Kinzinger’s early warnings weren’t in vain; he had already done some preliminary analyses of the call data from several Congressional members.

An update from CNN revealed that during Special Counsel Jack Smith’s January 6 investigation, the FBI obtained the phone records of nine Republican members of Congress in 2023. This was more of a data collection exercise rather than looking at actual calls or texts, focusing instead on who contacted whom and when.

Grassley shared the memo through an email, underscoring that it showed the Biden administration’s FBI was spying on Republican colleagues during what was termed the Arctic Frost inquiry into “election conspiracy.” He concluded emphatically that this situation was “worse than Watergate.”

This prompts further questions: why did this story seem to fade into the background? It hints at a politically charged investigation trying to unearth dirt on fellow lawmakers—or at least suggests corruption within the executive targeting those in Congress.

As one lawmaker put it:

They are casting this net against members of the Senate and House, and it feels like a fishing expedition. It has no clear justification, and that should anger all Americans.

Another politician suggested this could be one of the gravest political scandals in history, part of a string of controversies during Biden’s time in office. But a quick Google search for articles related to the phone records since October 7 reveals almost no coverage following the release of Grassley’s memo.

Media Silence

The day after, various news outlets reported FBI Director Kash Patel discussing a fired agent involved in the Arctic Frost inquiries. There were also scattered reports of Hagerty questioning why his records were released by Verizon without prior notice.

Verizon explained that it was compelled by federal law to respond to grand jury subpoenas. They noted that a valid subpoena and court order for confidentiality were in place, but the reason for the inquiry wasn’t disclosed.

Grassley and other senators have followed up with Verizon and other carriers, demanding the same data provided to the FBI or Special Counsel Jack Smith. They expressed that these records should be privileged due to their connection to the constitutional task of certifying the 2020 presidential election.

This situation seems substantial and worthy of more media scrutiny, so it’s curious why major investigative teams at places like the New York Times or Washington Post haven’t picked it up. Coverage on CBS, NBC, and ABC has similarly been sparse, leaving a significant gap when compared to Watergate coverage.

Recently, Rep. Jim Jordan, who heads the House Judiciary Committee, mentioned sending a letter to Smith. This request included transcripts and documents pertaining to the investigation into President Trump. While this is a step, it’s worth noting that these interviews are conducted in secret, with one of Smith’s associates reportedly invoking the Fifth Amendment numerous times during questioning.

Call to Action for Congress

Now is the time for Republican Congress members to follow through on their promise to hold accountable those who they feel have misused federal power against Trump and his allies. Just issuing press releases or conducting secret interviews isn’t enough. What’s needed is a public televised hearing, calling in witnesses from the January 6 committee and others, including Kinzinger, Liz Cheney, Adam Schiff, and former FBI Director Christopher Wray.

Will mainstream media cover this? Probably not. Unfortunately, it seems that many of those outlets are still focused on undermining Trump, rather than shedding light on these matters. However, that shouldn’t deter Republican efforts.

Watergate started as a minor incident—just a failed break-in. But even without the famed duo of Woodward and Bernstein, it wouldn’t have slipped away if Congress had played its role appropriately.

Now, it’s up to Jordan, Grassley, and others to step up and ensure this isn’t swept under the rug.