Grassley Says DOJ Materials Show Special Counsel Team Accessed Texts Tied to 44 Lawmakers, Prompting Congressional Review

Senator Chuck Grassley said materials associated with the special counsel investigation led by Jack Smith show investigators accessed text messages involving White House officials and members of Congress, then used the information to develop a case that Grassley characterized as undermining congressional oversight and DOJ privilege protections. Grassley made the claim in connection with DOJ records that, according to Grassley as reported by Zero Hedge, were released to lawmakers during the week of July 14, 2026.

The reported account says investigators directly obtained texts between Trump White House officials and 44 members of Congress, and that subsequent steps involved having the FBI match phone numbers to lawmakers’ names. Grassley’s allegation is that the investigative team “blew past” Justice Department privilege safeguards rather than routing around or minimizing privilege and congressional-process concerns.

Grassley also said, as reported, that the investigative team misled Congress regarding how the information was obtained and used. In Grassley’s view, the process raised concerns not only about evidentiary use, but also about whether DOJ followed rules intended to protect privileged communications and to ensure that contacts involving members of Congress do not bypass safeguards meant to preserve constitutional separation of powers.

The underlying controversy centers on how DOJ handled sensitive communications when the messages involved federal lawmakers and executive-branch officials. If, as Grassley alleges, investigators used FBI analysis to connect identifiers to legislators’ identities after obtaining text data, that would implicate questions about consent, scope, and the handling of privileged or protected communications in criminal investigations that touch Congress.

Grassley’s complaint, as described in the report, also points to the practical impact for Congress. If texts involving members of Congress were obtained and then incorporated into investigative work, lawmakers could face burdens related to verification, privilege assertions, and potential exposure of information that they consider constitutionally sensitive.

A key next step will depend on whether lawmakers receive the underlying DOJ materials they contend contain the factual record for the allegations, including details about the scope of the text-message collection, how privilege safeguards were applied, and what communications were ultimately used in the investigative chain.