FBI Director Kash Patel said Wednesday that the bureau subpoenaed phone records belonging to him and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles when both were private citizens during the federal investigations into President Donald Trump.

In comments to Reuters, Patel said the subpoenas were issued during the Biden administration as part of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s probes into whether Trump interfered with the 2020 election and improperly retained classified documents at Mar-a-Lago after leaving office.

Smith was appointed in November 2022 by then–Attorney General Merrick Garland to oversee the investigations.

Patel described the collection of the phone records as government overreach and said the process was hidden within FBI systems in a way that made it difficult to uncover after he assumed leadership of the bureau in February 2025.

“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,” Patel said in a statement to Reuters.

According to Patel, investigators obtained what are known as “toll records,” which document the timing and recipients of phone calls but not the contents of conversations. Under federal law, such records can be obtained via subpoena without prior judicial approval.

Reuters said it could not independently verify key aspects of Patel’s account, including the full scope and timing of the subpoenas or who authorized them. The news agency also reported it could not determine whether Patel or Wiles were themselves under investigation.

Patel and Wiles were both closely aligned with Trump during the period in question, as he prepared for and later launched his 2024 presidential campaign. Both were known to have been interviewed by investigators during Smith’s probe into Trump’s handling of classified documents.

Patel publicly stated in 2022 that Trump had declassified the documents taken to Mar-a-Lago — a claim prosecutors disputed and that Trump’s attorneys did not formally advance in court filings. Patel later testified before a grand jury in the case after receiving limited immunity.

Smith ultimately charged Trump in 2023 with felony counts related to the classified documents investigation. The case was later dismissed by a federal judge, and Smith dropped his appeal after Trump won a second term. Trump has consistently denied wrongdoing.

A federal judge this week permanently barred the Justice Department from releasing Smith’s final report on the classified documents investigation. Smith has told Congress he is constrained by court orders from discussing details of the probe beyond what has already been disclosed in court.

Democrats have defended Smith’s investigative methods, arguing that subpoenas for phone records are routine in complex federal investigations. Smith previously testified that obtaining call records — including those of lawmakers — helped investigators establish timelines related to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and other key events. He emphasized that prosecutors followed legal requirements and did not obtain call content.

The spokesperson for Smith declined to comment on Patel’s allegations. Former FBI Director Chris Wray, Garland and former President Joe Biden did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Patel said he recently ended the FBI’s ability to categorize files as “Prohibited,” a designation he said made the subpoena records difficult to locate within bureau systems.

The White House did not immediately comment on Patel’s claims.

The revelations are likely to intensify partisan scrutiny of the Justice Department’s conduct during the Trump investigations, as Republican lawmakers continue to examine the scope and methods used by federal prosecutors in pursuing the former president and his allies.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)