DOJ Special Counsel Investigations

Internal Justice Department emails obtained by Fox News show prosecutors on Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team in January 2023 discussed seeking phone toll records for a broad set of Republican lawmakers, including newly identified names such as Reps. Brian Babin and Andy Biggs and then‑Rep. Lee Zeldin, now EPA administrator. In a Jan. 9, 2023 email, prosecutor Timothy Duree asked DOJ’s Public Integrity Section to concur in obtaining toll records for 16 House and Senate members and one chief of staff who had contacts with key figures in the 2020 election probe, proposing a tight window from Oct. 1, 2020, to Jan. 31, 2021. Senior prosecutor Raymond Hulser replied that, before telling DOJ leadership they would "fire off subpoenas for so many members’ tolls," he needed to make sure Smith was aware, underscoring how extraordinary the contemplated move was. Previously disclosed materials had already confirmed subpoenas for some senators’ records, but the new emails expand the map of lawmakers considered as targets while leaving unclear whether subpoenas were ultimately executed for Babin, Biggs and Zeldin. The revelations feed ongoing House and Senate Judiciary investigations into the Arctic Frost/Smith probe, as Republicans argue such subpoenas violated the Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause while Smith continues to insist his methods were "entirely proper" under DOJ protocol.