Newly released documents reveal that a special counsel investigation into Kash Patel, now FBI director but then a private citizen, sought extensive personal data including over two years of phone records, text messages, and financial information. The probe, led by former Special Counsel Jack Smith, began in 2022 and targeted Patel's communications as part of a broader inquiry into whether President Donald Trump interfered with the 2020 election and concealed classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.
The grand jury subpoenas, issued to Verizon Communications, requested records from January 1, 2021 to November 23, 2023, and from October 1, 2020 through February 22, 2023. The demands included call logs, text metadata, mailing and email addresses, billing and IP addresses, and bank account information, but not the content of communications. The precise nature of the investigation into Patel and any specific allegations remain unclear.
The documents were authorised for public release by Republican Senators Charles Grassley, Ron Johnson, and Ted Cruz, ahead of a subcommittee hearing on Tuesday focusing on Smith's investigation, code-named Arctic Frost. FBI spokesman Ben Williamson said the records show improper actions by Smith and the FBI, stating, 'The FBI under prior leadership was weaponised in ways the American people are only now beginning to fully grasp.'
A spokesman for Smith did not respond to a request for comment, but Smith previously told Congress that his investigators were concerned about possible obstruction of justice and that his office followed Justice Department policies. Democrats have defended Smith, saying it is not unusual for investigators to seek phone and other records while investigating allegations of wrongdoing.
U.S. Magistrate Judge James Mazzone issued a nondisclosure order in November 2022, citing reasonable grounds that disclosure would result in flight, evidence tampering, witness intimidation, or serious jeopardy to the investigation. It remains unclear whether Verizon complied with the requests or how the information was used.
