ANALYSIS
Biden Administration's FBI obtained phone records of Kash Patel and Susie Wiles during federal investigation into Trump
The director of the investigative bureau described the FBI's seizure of his phone records, as well as attempts to conceal the seizure, as a case of overreach by unelected officials during the previous administration.
FBI Director Kash Patel
The FBI obtained phone records of calls made by Kash Patel, current FBI director, and Susie Wiles, White House chief of staff, when both were still private citizens in 2022 and 2023, Patel said in exclusive remarks to Reuters.
Kash Patel pointed out to the media outlet that these actions occurred primarily while special prosecutor Jack Smith, appointed in November 2022, was investigating whether President Trump had interfered in the 2020 election and whether he had hidden classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.
The investigations bureau director described the FBI's seizure of his phone records, as well as attempts to conceal it, as a case of overreach by unelected officials during the previous administration.
Patel told Reuters that investigators resorted to subpoenas to obtain telephone traffic records, which show when calls were made and to whom, but not their content. He also contended that the records were filed in a way that made it difficult for him and other senior FBI officials to locate them after he took over the bureau in February 2025.
He also stated, "It is outrageous and deeply alarming that the previous FBI leadership secretly subpoenaed my own phone records – along with those of now White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles – using flimsy pretexts and burying the entire process in prohibited case files designed to evade all oversight."
In 2023, the FBI recorded a telephone conversation between Wiles and her lawyer, two agency officials told Reuters. The lawyer was aware that the call would be recorded and gave his consent, but Susie Wiles was not informed.
Firing over case on classified Trump documents
The FBI on Wednesday fired at least six agents linked to the investigation opened in 2022 into Donald Trump's alleged withholding of classified documents when he left the White House.
According to several media, FBI Director Kash Patel ordered the dismissals because of the agents' role in this case. So far, the institution has not commented on these reports.
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The FBI Agents Association (FBIAA) subsequently criticized the dismissals:
"The FBIAA condemns today’s unlawful termination of FBI Special Agents, which—like other firings by Director Patel—violates the due process rights of those who risk their lives to protect our country," the organization said in a statement picked up by Fox.
"These actions weaken the Bureau by stripping away critical expertise and destabilizing the workforce, undermining trust in leadership and jeopardizing the Bureau’s ability to meet its recruitment goals—ultimately putting the nation at greater risk."
The case of classified documents
The investigation alleged that the Republican leader had moved sensitive documents to his home without the necessary security measures and that he had also hindered the authorities' efforts to retrieve them.
Prosecutors said the materials included classified files related to nuclear and defense matters.
In July 2024, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon quashed the prosecution, finding that former special counsel Jack Smith was appointed irregularly. On Monday, Cannon prevented the release of a report prepared by Smith, after granting a request filed by Trump and two of his co-defendants to halt its publication.
"Disclosure of non-public discovery material... would contravene basic notions of fairness and justice," Cannon wrote. "The former defendants in this case, like any other defendant in this situation, still enjoy the presumption of innocence."
"The Court strains to find a situation in which a former special counsel has released a report after initiating criminal charges that did not result in a finding of guilt," he added.
Cannon's order marks the closure of the case and confirms that the public will not know what the investigation revealed about the president.
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