Senate Judiciary chair Chuck Grassley says DOJ notified him Jack Smith team reviewed 44 lawmakers’ text messages

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he received notification from the Justice Department that former special counsel Jack Smith’s team “secretly obtained” text messages from 44 lawmakers, according to The Hill. Grassley said the DOJ notification was part of the department’s efforts to brief congressional leadership about the scope of investigative steps taken in connection with a probe involving President Donald Trump.

In a statement referenced by The Hill, Grassley said he is one of the 44 lawmakers whose text messages were reviewed. The report described Grassley as saying he has records related to the department’s communications and the investigative activity at issue, and that he raised questions about the process and legal basis for obtaining and reviewing lawmakers’ communications.

The reporting adds that the Justice Department notification came after congressional scrutiny of how the Smith team sought or used lawmakers’ communications in the course of federal investigations. Grassley has previously led efforts in the Senate Judiciary Committee to examine Department of Justice activity, including claims of improper scope or oversight in investigations that involve elected officials.

Grassley’s claim centers on the handling of lawmakers’ texts and the characterization that the communications were obtained without the lawmakers’ knowledge. The Hill’s report does not provide the underlying legal filings or a DOJ document describing the acquisition and review process, and the materials included with this discovery package do not include an official Justice Department release addressing the specific figure of 44 lawmakers or the “secretly obtained” framing.

The Senate Judiciary Committee chair’s assertions, as reported, raise practical questions about due process and separation of powers in investigations that touch Members of Congress. Lawmakers and congressional staff communicate frequently about official duties, and inquiries that access those communications can implicate constitutional concerns about congressional autonomy, protected legislative communications, and the need for clear legal standards and oversight when federal authorities review records connected to elected officials.

A separate question is how the notification and the review described by Grassley affect any ongoing or future legal proceedings. If DOJ action or the underlying investigative materials are subject to court supervision or statutory constraints, the scope described in congressional correspondence could inform whether parties seek judicial review, additional disclosures, or limits on how communications are used.

As of this writing, no Department of Justice document confirming the specific claim that Smith’s team reviewed text messages from 44 lawmakers appears in the provided material. The only directly cited source in this package is the reporting by The Hill, which attributes the statements to Grassley and describes the DOJ notification; Apex Times will require official or primary documentation from DOJ or court filings to independently verify the core numbers and timeline before treating the account as confirmed.

Grassley, as Judiciary Committee chair, is positioned to pursue further oversight through committee requests for records or hearings, depending on the administration’s response and any legal constraints on disclosure. Any additional DOJ or court filings that describe the acquisition and review of lawmakers’ communications would be likely next steps for establishing the scope and legal rationale of the investigative activity described in the congressional notice.