Newly declassified FBI documents are raising fresh questions about the Biden administration’s investigation of President Donald Trump, revealing that federal agents monitored communications involving his attorneys, political advisers and journalists while also tracking his family’s travel ahead of the 2022 search of Mar-a-Lago.
The records, released through a White House transparency initiative, provide an unusually detailed look at the FBI investigation known internally as “Plasmic Echo.”
The documents show investigators collected telephone metadata involving Susie Wiles, now Trump’s White House chief of staff, and examined her contacts with at least 21 defense attorneys, political advisers and multiple journalists.
The records also reveal that senior FBI and Justice Department officials were involved in approving sensitive investigative activity involving Trump and his associates.
Independent journalist Catherine Herridge highlighted several of the disclosures, including a March 2022 memorandum bearing the initials of then-FBI Director Christopher Wray and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco.
The findings have renewed questions about the scope of the federal investigation and whether investigators took adequate precautions when collecting information involving attorneys, journalists and political figures.
Trump Probe: Approval Came From The TOP
– FBI, Biden DOJ Leadership– Then FBI Director Wray Initials memo, Deputy AG Lisa Monaco initials, with note to then Attorney General Garland:
“Merrick, I recommend you approve, Lisa 3/25/22”
While memo is heavily redacted, it reads in part:
“Although members of the 45th Presidential
administration are no longer in office, the DOJ Memo states that the scope of this policy should be broadly construed to ensure that Department leadership is made aware of the opening of matters that could potentially be disruptive to the democratic process if publicly disclosed prior
to an election….”Declassified via @WhiteHouse transparency task force
— Catherine Herridge (@C__Herridge) October 5, 2026
Among the most significant revelations are records detailing the FBI’s monitoring of Wiles, who was a senior Trump political adviser during the investigation.
According to the declassified documents, investigators used a pen register and trap-and-trace process to collect information about calls made to and from her telephone.
The surveillance reportedly continued from at least February through May 2023.
Unlike traditional wiretapping, pen registers and trap-and-trace technology collect information about communications rather than recording the conversations themselves.
That information can include telephone numbers, the timing of calls and their duration.
The newly released records indicate investigators cataloged Wiles’ communications with at least 21 attorneys associated with Trump, along with campaign officials, political advisers and journalists.
Media organizations appearing in the records included CNN, The Washington Post, Politico and Just the News.
The presence of those contacts does not establish that the journalists or attorneys were themselves suspected of criminal activity.
Nevertheless, the breadth of the information collected has generated concerns about investigative practices involving individuals engaged in legal representation, political activities and journalism.
The documents also reveal how closely federal investigators examined Wiles’ telephone activity.
A March 10, 2023, FBI memorandum reportedly included three pages detailing her contacts.
Investigators interviewed Wiles on April 7, 2023, and presented her with several pages of communications information.
Additional records show agents reviewing her telephone activity around the date of that interview.
One internal memorandum described investigators examining calls to identify contacts of interest.
Another entry documented a May 19, 2023, call from a telephone number identified in FBI records as Trump’s personal “vanity number.”
That conversation reportedly lasted 16 minutes and 11 seconds.
The documents do not disclose the contents of the conversation.
The monitoring also extended to contacts involving individuals connected to Trump’s political activities, including Kash Patel, who now serves as FBI director.
An unnamed former senior FBI official cited by Herridge compared the approach to a technique known as “tickle the wire,” in which investigators examine communications patterns to identify potential investigative leads.
Another disclosure concerns the involvement of senior officials in authorizing the investigation.
Herridge highlighted a March 2022 memorandum bearing Wray’s initials and a handwritten notation from Monaco addressed to then-Attorney General Merrick Garland.
“Merrick, I recommend you approve, Lisa 3/25/22,” the notation stated.
The heavily redacted memorandum addressed the Justice Department’s procedures for handling politically sensitive investigations.
It specifically discussed the importance of notifying senior department leadership about investigations that could have significant political consequences.
The document explained that the relevant policy should be interpreted broadly to ensure officials were informed about matters that could disrupt the democratic process if disclosed before an election.
The investigation received a designation as a “Sensitive Investigative Matter,” a classification used for cases involving heightened political, constitutional or other sensitivities.
That designation subjects certain investigative decisions to additional review and oversight.
The records establish that senior Justice Department officials were involved in the approval process. They do not, by themselves, establish that those officials authorized unlawful surveillance or directed investigators to target Trump for political reasons.
The declassified files also provide new details about the planning that preceded the August 8, 2022, search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.
Internal FBI communications instructed investigators to establish the travel schedules of Trump, former first lady Melania Trump and their son Barron.
One planning document directed agents to finalize their understanding of the family’s movements, including aircraft information and specific travel timelines.
Another communication indicated that agents intended to execute search warrants after Trump departed the property.
The planning records suggest investigators were attempting to determine when members of the Trump family would be absent before conducting the operation.
The search ultimately took place while Trump was away from Mar-a-Lago.
The warrant authorized agents to search specified areas for classified information, national-defense information and government records.
The documents also reveal disagreements between FBI personnel and Justice Department prosecutors over the proposed search.
According to an internal memorandum dated July 13, 2022, officials in the FBI’s Washington Field Office questioned whether investigators had established sufficient probable cause to search Mar-a-Lago.
The memorandum indicated that some agents believed additional efforts to recover the documents without a search warrant could be more productive.
Investigators also expressed frustration about the amount of time spent attempting to establish probable cause.
This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
