House Republicans released six transcripts on September 22, 2026, detailing former Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation into Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers. The documents reveal that investigators subpoenaed phone records of over a dozen GOP lawmakers and seized Representative Scott Perry's phone using a location warrant. While prosecutors defended their methods as lawful and careful, retired agent Brian Burnett criticized the "top-down" structure as highly unusual.
Release of Investigation Transcripts
- ▪House Republicans released six transcripts on September 22, 2026, from former Special Counsel Jack Smith's team and an Office of Inspector General agent regarding the Arctic Frost investigation into Donald Trump
- ▪The transcripts released by House Republicans on September 22, 2026, include testimony from Jack Smith's team members J.P. Cooney, Molly Gaston, Ray Hulser, Tad Duree, and Thomas Windom, as well as Office of Inspector General agent Brian Burnett
Subpoenas for Lawmakers' Phone Records
- ▪The Justice Department's Public Integrity Section approved seeking Representative Jim Jordan's phone records in April 2022, but the Office of Inspector General agent serving the subpoena to Verizon did not know the number belonged to Jordan.
- ▪Former Special Counsel Jack Smith's team used nondisclosure orders to prevent phone providers from notifying lawmakers about subpoenas for their phone records, which prevented the lawmakers from challenging the demands.
- ▪Investigators subpoenaed phone records belonging to more than a dozen Republican lawmakers during the Arctic Frost probe without serving the subpoenas directly to the lawmakers.
- ▪Former Special Counsel Jack Smith's team sought written justifications and narrowed the list of individuals when deciding to issue subpoenas for members of Congress in May
Speech or Debate Clause Considerations
- ▪Former Special Counsel Jack Smith's prosecutor Timothy "Tad" Duree maintained that prosecutors believed the sought congressional phone records were not protected by the Speech or Debate Clause of the Constitution.
- ▪Prosecutor Timothy "Tad" Duree acknowledged a lack of clarity on certain points of the Speech or Debate Clause during the Arctic Frost investigation but stated that Jack Smith's prosecution team was hypervigilant and treated the clause seriously
Seizure of Scott Perry's Phone
- ▪Investigators in the Arctic Frost investigation obtained a location warrant to locate Representative Scott Perry on vacation in New Jersey, where agents seized and imaged his phone before returning it
- ▪Prosecutor Timothy "Tad" Duree testified that investigators seized Representative Scott Perry's phone via a warrant due to his proximity to Donald Trump and his role in finding a legal strategy to keep Trump in office.
Brian Burnett testimony
- ▪Retired Office of Inspector General agent Brian Burnett testified that prosecutors directed investigative steps normally handled by agents, describing the Jack Smith investigation as "top down" and unlike any other in his 30 years of law enforcement experience.
- ▪Retired Office of Inspector General agent Brian Burnett testified that he would have raised the issue of whose phone number it was with his superiors if he had known the subpoenaed phone records belonged to Representative Jim Jordan
Debatable claims
- ▪Jack Smith's 'top-down' control of investigators violated standard law enforcement protocols
- ▪The Justice Department's secret subpoenaing of lawmakers' phone records was justified
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