Overview
- Patel told Reuters the FBI used subpoenas in 2022 and 2023 to obtain toll records showing call times and recipients for him and Susie Wiles during Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation.
- Patel said the records were later found in FBI files labeled “Prohibited,” which he described as hard to locate, and he said he ended that file category after taking over in February 2025.
- Reuters said it could not independently verify the scope or timing of the record collection, the purpose, or whether Patel or Wiles were investigative targets, and Smith’s office declined comment.
- Phone toll records can be lawfully obtained by subpoena without prior judicial approval and do not include the content of calls, according to legal experts cited by Reuters.
- A federal judge this week permanently barred release of Smith’s report, and Smith has testified his office followed Justice Department policies while court orders restrict what he can publicly discuss.