Trump amplifies agent’s claim he was kept in dark on subpoenaed congressional phone data
Trump shares testimony in which a retired federal agent says Jack Smith's prosecutors never told him grand jury subpoenas targeted the phone records of members of Congress.
WASHINGTON D.C. — Donald J. Trump amplified testimony from a retired federal agent who says prosecutors on Jack Smith‘s team never told him that phone data he gathered under grand jury subpoenas belonged to members of Congress.
Here is the full post on truthsocial: “Agent in Jack Smith case says he was kept in dark that subpoenaed phone data belonged to Congress: https://justthenews.com/accountability/political-ethics/agent-jack-smith-case-says-he-was-kept-dark-subpoenaed-phone-data” on September 22, 2026 at 6:13 PM ET.
This is Trump’s third message released today, and the last post was 10 hours ago, and it is not part of a thread. On average, Trump produces 18 posts per day since his inauguration on January 20, 2025. The move fits a broader pattern in Trump’s recent messaging, with 14 of his 551 posts over the last 30 days classified as Legal posts.
Retired Justice Department Inspector General Special Agent Brian Burnett, who spent decades at the department’s watchdog, said he never learned until after his late-2024 retirement that he had helped collect congressional phone data for the team prosecuting Trump over the Jan. six Capitol riot, a probe code-named Arctic Frost, by mentioning the source (see justthenews). Burnett faced evidence that he had helped gather long-distance toll data from the phone of Rep. Jim Jordan, now the House Judiciary Committee chairman and at the time the panel’s top Republican, by mentioning the source (see justthenews).
“I would’ve subpoenaed the number, but I did not know who the phone number belonged to, who the actual subscriber was,” Burnett said in the transcript released by Jordan’s committee, by mentioning the source (see justthenews). Asked whether prosecutors told him he was serving a subpoena for the ranking member’s records, he answered, “No. I don’t have any recollection of that.”
President Donald J. Trump amplified testimony from a retired federal agent at Washington D.C.
Joyce N. Boghosian / The White House
© copyright Flickr with permission
Burnett’s interview was one of six transcripts of former Smith associates released by the House Judiciary Committee in its Arctic Frost review, by mentioning the source (see justthenews). The releases add to a wider clash between the committee and the former prosecutor. Jordan issued a criminal referral for Smith on July 22, 2026, arguing that newly released records contradict Smith’s testimony that he did not obtain or review lawmakers’ text messages, according to judiciary.house.gov.
The scope of the collection has drawn scrutiny across both chambers. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley released documents showing Smith’s team read the text messages of 44 members of Congress from both parties and White House staff, according to judiciary.house.gov. Asked whether he examined the contents of lawmakers’ messages, Smith said, “no,” and told the committee his team only sought telephone toll records, according to judiciary.house.gov.
Smith, appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland in 2022, brought two federal cases against Trump, one over efforts to overturn the 2020 election and one over the handling of classified documents, according to pbs. He charged Trump in a superseding indictment in the election interference case, adjusting the counts to a Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity, according to abc7news. Smith has denied wrongdoing.
Grassley separately said Smith withheld impeachment records from Trump’s defense team during one of the criminal cases, a claim Deputy Attorney General nominee Todd Blanche confirmed under questioning, according to judiciary.senate.gov. Smith has rejected the broader accusation that he weaponized the Justice Department.
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