Josh Hawley grills Pam Bondi over alleged 'senators' phone tapping'

Senate Republicans are falsely claiming that newly disclosed records show that the FBI “tapped” their phones during former special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into Donald Trump’s efforts to subvert the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.

A single-page document, which was publicly released by Senate Judiciary Committee chair Chuck Grassley one day before Attorney General Pam Bondi appeared before the committee, only shows that an FBI agent performed “preliminary toll analysis” of nine senators’ phone records. However, Republicans keep claiming more was going on and that it was a politically motivated task.

Pulling phone records is a common investigative tactic, and those “toll” records include what numbers were called and when and for how long. They do not include the contents of messages or conversations, which would require a court-approved wiretap.

It’s unclear why the FBI sought those records, but agents were pulling data from the days immediately before and after January 6, 2021, when Trump and his allies were scrambling to derail a joint session of Congress to formally certify Biden’s election.

Senator Josh Hawley — who was close to Trump’s efforts in Congress to overturn his election loss — repeatedly falsely stated Tuesday that the FBI during Joe Biden’s administration had “tapped” his phone.

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