Jack Smith's investigative team read messages between Trump officials, 44 Congress members
Johnson accused Smith’s team of disregarding its protocols after records showed the team accessed messages involving members of Congress.
SOURCE CHECK
TAP FOR WHYCredibility rates KOMO, which republished this story. The other scores rate the article itself.
KOMO is an established local news outlet, and the article identifies its National News Desk byline. The report relies heavily on a Senate committee’s characterization of released records and includes limited response from the people accused.
- Source type — Established local television news outlet with a general editorial operation.
- Author attribution — The article carries a named National News Desk byline.
- Editorial standards — The article attributes key allegations to the Senate Judiciary Committee and quotes the senators making them.
- Source diversity — The account offers little direct counter-response from Smith or the Justice Department.
The report identifies the committee, cites a DOJ letter and records, gives the timeline for the subpoena and review, and includes statements from Grassley and Johnson. It does not provide a substantive response from Smith or the Justice Department, and much of its characterization comes from the committee and the two Republican senators.
HOW WE SCORE ↗The article provides the committee’s account, the senators’ accusations and a brief account of Smith’s earlier deposition answer. It does not include a current response from Smith or the Justice Department, leaving the allegations largely unchallenged in the report.
- Source diversity — Most of the quoted perspective comes from the two Republican senators and their committee.
- Counterarguments presented — Smith’s deposition answer is reported, but no current response to the released records is included.
- Omitted context — The report does not explain the investigative team’s rationale or provide DOJ’s account of the review process.
- Loaded language — Strongly charged descriptions are attributed to the senators rather than adopted as the reporter’s voice.
The report foregrounds Republican senators’ accusations and uses their forceful descriptions, while offering little response from Smith or the Justice Department. It does attribute the central claims to the committee and its letter rather than stating them as independently established findings.
- Framing — The opening and headline foreground alleged investigative misconduct by Smith’s team.
- Source selection — The article quotes Grassley and Johnson at length but includes no substantive response from Smith or DOJ.
- Language tone — Several strongly negative descriptions appear in attributed quotations, with limited independent characterization.
Republished with credit
Republished from Thenationaldesk, with credit to the original publisher.
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Records released to Sens. Chuck Grassley and Ron Johnson indicate that Jack Smith’s investigative team accessed messages involving 44 members of Congress before a filter team reviewed them. Grassley and Johnson alleged investigators bypassed safeguards, and Grassley said he plans to bring Smith before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The Senate Judiciary Committee said a Justice Department letter and released records indicate that Smith’s investigative team accessed texts between White House officials and members of Congress without waiting for a filter team to review them. The team had obtained texts from the National Archives as part of its investigations into Jan. 6 and Mar-a-Lago, the committee said. The article reports that the messages involved 44 current and former lawmakers.
Grassley said investigators ignored routine protocols and that he intends to have Smith appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Johnson called the episode an example of the Justice Department being weaponized and accused Smith’s team of disregarding its protocols. The article also reports that Smith said in a December 2025 deposition that his team had not looked at the contents of text messages.
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SWIPE →Senator who received the records and criticized Smith’s investigative team
Senate Judiciary Committee chairman seeking to hold Jack Smith accountable
Grassley's version of this story ↗
Representative whose messages were among those accessed
Representative whose messages were among those accessed
Former representative whose messages were among those accessed
Representative whose messages were among those accessed
Senator whose messages were among those accessed
CIA director and former White House official whose phone was associated with sought texts
Senator whose messages were among those accessed
Senator whose messages were among those accessed
Former senator whose messages were among those accessed
Representative whose messages were among those accessed
Representative whose messages were among those accessed
Former senator whose messages were among those accessed
Former representative whose messages were among those accessed
Former representative whose messages were among those accessed
Former White House official whose phone was among those associated with sought texts
Representative whose messages were among those accessed
Representative whose messages were among those accessed
Representative from Washington whose messages were among those accessed
Former senator whose messages were among those accessed
Former representative whose messages were among those accessed
Representative whose messages were among those accessed
Former representative whose messages were among those accessed
Senator whose messages were among those accessed
Representative whose messages were among those accessed
Senator whose messages were among those accessed
Former senator whose messages were among those accessed
Former representative whose messages were among those accessed
Representative whose messages were among those accessed
Senator whose messages were among those accessed
Former representative whose messages were among those accessed
Former representative whose messages were among those accessed
Senator whose messages were among those accessed
Former senator whose messages were among those accessed
Senator whose messages were among those accessed
Representative whose messages were among those accessed
Former representative whose messages were among those accessed
Senator whose messages were among those accessed
Former senator whose messages were among those accessed
Representative whose messages were among those accessed
Senator whose messages were among those accessed
Representative whose messages were among those accessed
Senator whose messages were among those accessed
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