FBI Subpoenas Phone Records of Kash Patel and Susie Wiles in Trump Investigation: Latest Updates
The FBI issued subpoenas for the phone records of Kash Patel and Susie Wiles in 2022 and 2023 during a federal investigation involving Donald Trump. Patel is the current FBI director, while Wiles serves as the White House chief of staff. The subpoenas were revealed by Reuters during the Biden administration's special counsel investigation into Trump's actions related to the 2020 election and handling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.
Special counsel Jack Smith charged Trump with multiple felony offenses in 2023 for his alleged attempts to challenge the 2020 election results and mishandling of documents post-presidency. However, a federal judge dismissed the election interference case after Smith dropped it following Trump's re-election, citing a Justice Department policy against prosecuting a sitting president. Smith also abandoned the Justice Department's appeal in a separate ruling related to the classified documents case, with Trump denying any wrongdoing in both instances.
Patel expressed outrage over the FBI's secret subpoena of his and Wiles' phone records, criticizing the move as alarming and based on flimsy pretexts. The FBI had hidden the phone records in files labeled as "Prohibited," as reported by Reuters. Patel mentioned that he had recently put an end to the FBI's ability to designate files as "Prohibited."
Smith testified that the phone records of individuals helped investigators establish the timeline of events surrounding the January 6 Capitol riot. He assured that prosecutors had followed all legal requirements in obtaining the records and clarified that the content of conversations was not included in the records obtained from lawmakers. This story is still developing, and updates will be provided as necessary.