North Country Rep. Elise Stefanik reacts to latest bombshell accusing former Special Counsel Jack Smith of obtaining text messages from nearly 50 Congressional members
WASHINGTON, D.C. – North Country Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY-21) is blasting former Special Counsel Jack Smith and his investigative team for apparently gaining access to text messages during a probe into Donald Trump during Joe Biden’s Presidency.
This development blossoms from records released from the U.S. Justice Department.
According to Stefanik’s office, she was one of 44 Congressional members that had text messages obtained and reviewed by Smith’s team as part of their criminal investigation into Mr. Trump.
Stefanik says this was done unconstitutionally. "The American people have long known that Joe Biden’s hand-picked prosecutor weaponized government at the highest levels, and I have long suspected that he unconstitutionally spied on Members of Congress — including me — and then perjured himself in front of Congress," Stefanik alleged.
"There must be criminal consequences for this egregious, unconstitutional, and illegal abuse of power targeting duly elected Members of Congress and the American people."
According to the office of U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), evidence shows that investigators bypassed a required Filter Team review process, violating investigative protocols and potentially infringing on constitutional guardrails.
***Read a DOJ summary here***
The Justice Department’s letter to the chairmen and the provided records indicate Smith’s investigative team circumvented its own filter review process, which was established to protect privileged materials from being swept up in a criminal prosecution, and directly accessed the content of texts sent by Republican and Democrat senators and members of the House of Representatives to White House officials during Trump’s first term.
Communications from Members of Congress pertaining to their official legislative duties are protected from criminal prosecution under the Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause. Bypassing a Filter Team evades consideration of additional privileges, such as attorney-client privilege, according to Grassley's office.
In June 2023, the Special Counsel’s Office (SCO) subpoenaed the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) to provide all text messages from October 2020 through January 20, 2021, from phones associated with a long list of personnel serving in the White House during President Trump’s first term, including Trump himself as well as: Mark Meadows, Dan Scavino, Ivanka Trump, Stephen Miller, Peter Navarro, John Ratcliffe, Kash Patel, Rudy Giuliani, Kellyanne Conway and Mike Pence.
NARA provided the texts to SCO on August 21, 2023. Within half an hour, one of Smith’s senior lawyers, Thomas Windom, downloaded the texts and, within one hour, other members of Smith’s investigative team downloaded and began reviewing the texts.
According to Grassley's office, it appears the review was done without waiting for the Filter Team to evaluate and segregate privileged information.
Smith’s team accessed texts to and from the following current and former senators and members of the House of Representatives:
1. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa)
2. Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wis.)
3. Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas)
4. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.)
5. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.)
6. Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah)
7. Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.)
8. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.)
9. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska)
10. Senator David Perdue (R-Ga.)
11. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.)
12. Senator Martha McSally (R-Ariz.)
13. Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.)
14. Senator Rick Scott (R-Fla.)
15. Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio)
16. Senator Roy Blunt (R-Mo.)
17. Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine)
18. Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.)
19. Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.)
20. Senator Cory Gardner (R-Colo.)
21. Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.)
22. Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.)
23. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio)
24. Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.)
25. Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.)
26. Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.)
27. Rep. Mark Walker (R-N.C.)
28. Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Wis.)
29. Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.)
30. Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.)
31. Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.)
32. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.)
33. Rep. John Katko (R-N.Y.)
34. Rep. Joshua Gottheimer (D-N.J.)
35. Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.)
36. Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.)
37. Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.)
38. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.)
39. Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.)
40. Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.)
41. Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.)
42. Rep. Russ Fulcher (R-Idaho)
43. Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.)
44. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.)
Elise Stefanik image.
