Biden FBI tracked Melania and Barron Trumps travel and even tapped Susie Wiles phone, documents show
WASHINGTON — The FBI monitored Melania and Barron Trump’s travel and tapped future White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles’ cell phone as part of special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into whether President Trump illegally hoarded national security papers at Mar-a-Lago following his first term.The first family’s trips were traced as the bureau plotted the best time to search Trump’s Palm Beach home, while Wiles’ phone was tracked in the months after the August 2022 raid to monitor her communications with Trump’s defense attorneys, according to documents released Monday by the White House.The surveillance — which took place under then-President Joe Biden’s administration — was part of a secret probe titled “Plasmic Echo.”Then-Attorney General Merrick Garland signed off the wiretaps on the advice of then-FBI Director Christopher Wray, who sent Garland a memo in May 2022 warning the sensitive investigation could encompass top figures from the 45th president’s administration and “could potentially be disruptive to the democratic process if publicly disclosed prior to an election.”Still, Wray encouraged Garland with a hand-written message at the bottom of the memo reading: “Merrick, I recomend you approve.CW.”Wiles at the time was running Trump’s political operation as he prepared for the 2024 election.The details of the FBI’s actions were revealed in a series of documents released by the White House Government Transparency Task Force.
An email exchange between FBI agents – whose names are redacted — in late May 2022 outlines the steps the agency took as it ramped up the documents probe, including finalizing its search warrant for Mar-a-Lago, contacting the Southern District of Florida US Attorney’s office (which had jurisdiction at the time), and watching Donald, Melania and Barron Trump closely.“Finalize FBI understanding of FPOTUS/FLOTUS/minor son’s travel (type of aircraft and specifictimeline),” notes one ite...