Headline Roundup • February 25th, 2026
FBI Subpoenaed Phone Records from Kash Patel, Susie Wiles in 2022-2023: Reuters
Summary from the AllSides News Team
The FBI subpoenaed phone call records from now-FBI Director Kash Patel and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles when they were both private citizens, according to a new report by Reuters (Center bias).
The Details: The subpoenas took place in 2022 and 2023 during the federal probe into whether President Trump had interfered with the 2020 election. Special Counsel Jack Smith was also looking into whether Trump had hidden classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, according to Patel. Reuters said it couldn't verify many of Patel's claims, including the extent and timing of the seizure of phone records and the motive. It also couldn't establish what records were obtained and who approved the subpoenas. According to FBI officials, at least 10 current FBI employees were fired after the revelation of the subpoenas.
For Context: Under the Biden administration, the Justice Department investigated Trump's role in attempting to overturn the 2020 election results. Authorities had issued subpoenas and sought testimony from individuals close to Trump at the time, which is standard for investigations like this. Trump was charged with multiple felonies as a result of the investigation. After he won a second presidential term, Smith dropped the charges, citing Justice Department policy against prosecuting a sitting president. Patel and Wiles were both Trump's political allies during this time, with Wiles becoming his co-campaign manager in 2024.
How the Media Covered It: Reuters said Patel portrayed the actions and efforts to conceal them as an "example of overreach by unelected government officials", which it said is a "theme often repeated" by Trump. CNN (Lean Left) focused on Patel's response to the revelation of the subpoenas. It said the "ouster of FBI employees is the latest in a series of Patel pushing out agents and other employees" who investigated the Capitol riot. The New York Post (Lean Right) highlighted an FBI official's comments that the action was part of a "massive targeting operation" by the Biden admin. It also reported that "burn bags" related to Trump's alleged connections to Russia in 2016 were also discovered by the FBI last year, suggesting they were to be destroyed under Biden.
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Featured Coverage of this Story
Annabelle Gordon/Sipa USA/AP/File
FBI Director Kash Patel ordered the ouster of least 10 employees involved in the investigation of President Donald Trump's alleged mishandling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate, four people briefed on the matter told CNN.
NurPhoto via Getty Images
Phone records belonging to FBI Director Kash Patel and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles were subpoenaed by the bureau back in 2022 and 2023 as part of a "massive targeting operation" undertaken by the Biden administration, The Post has learned.
The FBI subpoenaed records of phone calls made by Kash Patel and Susie Wiles, now the FBI director and White House Chief of Staff, when they were both private citizens in 2022 and 2023 during the federal probe of Donald Trump, Patel told Reuters on Wednesday.
