Biden-era FBI tracked Trump family’s travel, monitored Susie Wiles’ call records, documents show

The FBI under the Biden administration tracked now-President Donald Trump’s travel, along with that of his wife, Melania, and their son, Barron, while preparing to search Mar-a-Lago in 2022 and later monitored future White House chief of staff Susie Wiles’ call records during the classified documents investigation, according to records released Oct. 5.

The White House Government Transparency Task Force released the newly declassified documents from “Plasmic Echo,” the investigation into Trump’s handling of classified records after his first term. 

The White House said senior Department of Justice (DOJ) and FBI officials approved the investigation, which special counsel Jack Smith later took over. 

In an Oct. 5 X post responding to the news, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller called the probe a “seditious conspiracy against the Republic waged from within the Department of Justice and at the highest levels of government.”

The disclosures also prompted House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, to renew an earlier call to prosecute Smith over a separate dispute about his testimony on lawmakers’ communications.

FBI monitored Trump family travel before Mar-a-Lago search

According to the documents, a May 2022 email exchange between FBI agents outlined preparations for a possible Mar-a-Lago search, including determining the travel schedules of Trump, his wife, and their son and coordinating with the Secret Service.

“Finalize FBI understanding of FPOTUS/FLOTUS/minor son’s travel (type of aircraft and specific timeline),” one item on the FBI list states. The final two items on the agenda were “swear out the warrant” and “finalize all coordination between FBI/DOJ/USSS” in West Palm Beach.

“Any search warrants would be served after the former President departs Mar a Lago,” another document noted.

In a July 12, 2022, email, an FBI official said the Washington Field Office’s counterintelligence team did not believe investigators had established probable cause to search Trump’s office or bedroom. The email outlined possible next steps, including speaking with Trump or his counsel. The FBI ultimately carried out the search Aug. 8, 2022, searching Trump’s office and bedrooms used by him and Melania.

Smith took over the investigation several months later. Then-Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed him special counsel Nov. 18, 2022, to oversee the classified documents investigation and a separate investigation into efforts to interfere with the transfer of presidential power following the 2020 election. 

The released records also include a March 24, 2022, memo from then-FBI Director Christopher Wray seeking Garland’s authorization to convert an existing assessment into a full investigation. 

The memo warned potential subjects could include presidential candidates, campaign officials, or advisers. Citing DOJ policy, it explained that department leadership should receive notice of investigations that “could potentially be disruptive to the democratic process if publicly disclosed prior to an election.”

A handwritten note from then-Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, signed with her initials “LM,” reads, “Merrick — I recommend you approve.” Garland approved the full investigation days later. 

Agents tracked Wiles’ contacts with lawyers and journalists

The documents also reveal that agents monitored Wiles’ phone activity from at least February through May 2023 using a pen register and trap-and-trace system, which captures information about incoming and outgoing communications rather than what people say. Wiles helped lead Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign. 

Agents traced details of calls and text messages involving Wiles and at least 21 Trump-affiliated lawyers, along with campaign staff, political advisers, and at least five journalists, Just the News reported. The lawyers’ and journalists’ names were redacted except for current FBI Director Kash Patel and Just the News founder John Solomon. 

Jordan renews prosecution call

Jordan’s House Judiciary Committee referred Smith for possible prosecution July 22, alleging that records showing investigators obtained lawmakers’ text messages contradicted his December 2025 congressional testimony. Smith’s lawyers have denied that he lied, saying his answers concerned phone toll records. 

The referral concerned the separate investigation in efforts to overturn the 2020 election, which began as the FBI’s “Arctic Frost” probe before Smith took over. Republicans allege investigators improperly collected phone records from Trump associates and several GOP lawmakers.

>> FBI recorded call between Susie Wiles and attorney, Senate witness says <<

Jordan told Just the News Oct. 5 that the newly disclosed monitoring of Wiles’ contacts with attorneys could have breached attorney-client privilege and raises additional concerns about Smith. 

“It sure raises concerns because, again, remember, they're looking at ‘okay so this call happened at this time [...] what was his action later?’ So, it's like they're trying to piece all that together, and you can, as we've said before about what they did to members of Congress you can pattern a person's life,” Jordan said. 

He added that the situation “underscores just how committed these guys were, just how focused they were on stopping President Trump from being president, stopping the guy that we, the people, elected as commander in chief.”

White House spokesperson Lauren Bis responded to the disclosures in a statement cited by the New York Post, calling Smith’s “surveillance operation” a “disgraceful abuse of government power.”

“Spying on political opponents is weaponization of law enforcement, plain and simple,” Bis said. “Those responsible must be held accountable.”