Another day, another document dump that has raised more questions about former President Joe Biden and Barack Obama allegedly abusing power.
Newly declassified FBI records are providing a deeper look inside the federal investigation that ultimately led to the 2022 search of President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, revealing that investigators collected phone metadata involving senior Trump advisers, defense attorneys, and journalists while also closely tracking the Trump family’s travel.
The documents concern “Plasmic Echo,” the FBI codename for the investigation into Trump’s handling of classified and government records after leaving the White House.
Independent investigative journalist Catherine Herridge highlighted portions of the newly released material showing that communications involving a broad range of people in Trump’s political and legal orbit were captured as investigators mapped contacts during the probe.
Among those whose communications or records surfaced were Susie Wiles, who later became Trump’s White House chief of staff, and Kash Patel, now director of the FBI.
The records do not establish that everyone whose information appeared in the investigation was suspected of committing a crime.
One of the most significant disclosures involves Wiles. The latest info comes from independent investigative journalist Catherine Herridge, working outside the legacy outlets that spent four years incurious about any of this.
Her analysis of the newest tranche from Plasmic Echo — the FBI’s codename for the Mar-a-Lago classified documents investigation — shows that communications involving a long list of people in Trump’s orbit were swept up.
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
Herridge revealed that federal agents used a pen register and trap-and-trace device on her phone for a period in 2023, according to the declassified records.
The surveillance tool collects metadata — including numbers associated with incoming and outgoing calls, when calls occurred and their duration — rather than recording the conversations themselves.
The records indicate investigators tracked Wiles’ contacts with at least 21 defense attorneys associated with Trump, political advisers, campaign figures and at least five journalists.
Media organizations appearing in the records included CNN, The Washington Post, Politico and Just the News.
A March 10 FBI memorandum contained three pages detailing Wiles’ telephone contacts.
Investigators interviewed Wiles on April 7, 2023, and showed her several pages of communications information, according to the newly released documents.
Another entry from May 19 recorded a call from a number identified in FBI records as Trump’s “vanity number” to Wiles. The call lasted 16 minutes and 11 seconds.
The breadth of the contacts has generated questions from Republicans about whether investigators swept too broadly into communications involving Trump’s lawyers, political advisers and members of the press.
An unnamed former senior FBI official cited by Herridge characterized the approach as resembling a “tickle the wire” operation — an investigative technique in which agents examine communications patterns and relationships to identify potential leads.
The memos also show that the approval to improperly target Trump and his associates came from the top ranks of the FBI, including then-Director Chris Wray.
Herridge highlighted a March 2022 memorandum bearing the initials of Wray and then-Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco.
A handwritten notation from Monaco to Attorney General Merrick Garland stated: “Merrick, I recommend you approve, Lisa 3/25/22.”
The memorandum designated the matter a “Sensitive Investigative Matter,” a classification used for investigations carrying heightened political, First Amendment or other sensitivities.
The partially redacted document specifically recognized the potential political consequences of investigating figures associated with the 45th president.
It stated that Justice Department policy should be “broadly construed” to ensure department leadership knew about investigations that could potentially disrupt the democratic process if publicly disclosed before an election.
The files also reveal extensive planning before agents searched Mar-a-Lago on Aug. 8, 2022.
Internal FBI communications instructed agents to establish the travel schedules of Trump, former first lady Melania Trump and their son Barron before executing the warrant.
One planning document called for agents to “finalize FBI understanding of FPOTUS/FLOTUS/minor son’s travel,” including aircraft information and specific timelines.
Another internal communication stated that search warrants would be served after Trump departed Mar-a-Lago.
The operational plan eventually used for the search identified the mission as locating and seizing classified information, national-defense information and U.S. government records described in the warrant.
The records also show internal disagreement between investigators and prosecutors before the search.
According to the newly declassified material, personnel in the FBI’s Washington Field Office raised concerns about whether sufficient probable cause existed to search Trump’s residence while Justice Department prosecutors pushed forward with efforts to obtain a warrant.
The FBI ultimately executed the court-authorized search on Aug. 8, 2022.
Agents recovered thousands of government documents, including more than 100 documents bearing classification markings ranging from confidential to top secret, from Trump’s office and a storage area at Mar-a-Lago.
Special counsel Jack Smith was later put in control of the investigation after Garland appointed him in November 2022.
Trump was eventually indicted on charges alleging that he unlawfully retained national-defense information and obstructed government efforts to recover documents.
Trump pleaded not guilty and repeatedly argued that the prosecution was politically motivated.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the classified-documents case in July 2024 after concluding that Smith’s appointment violated the Constitution’s Appointments Clause.
Smith initially appealed but abandoned the prosecution after Trump won the 2024 presidential election, citing longstanding Justice Department policy against prosecuting a sitting president.
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