Newly released documents are adding an ugly chapter to the conduct of former Special Counsel Jack Smith and the Biden-era FBI. The records show that surveillance connected to the investigation reached beyond Donald Trump and into the lives of Melania Trump, Barron Trump, and current White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.
Documents released [1] Monday by the White House detail an investigation called “Plasmic Echo.” The probe, later led by special counsel Jack Smith, examined whether Trump improperly retained classified documents after leaving office.
According to the declassified records, agents tracked the travel of Melania Trump and Barron Trump while planning the 2022 search of Mar-a-Lago. The surveillance of a political figure’s wife and son marks another troubling element of an already controversial investigation.
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The documents also show that investigators monitored calls involving Wiles, who now serves as White House Chief of Staff. Those calls involved defense lawyers, campaign advisers, and journalists, according to the material released by the White House.
The surveillance gathered details about the calls rather than the contents of the conversations. That distinction does little to erase the broader concern raised by federal investigators collecting information about Trump’s family, political advisers, and people communicating with them.
Earlier reporting had already revealed efforts by the Biden-era FBI to obtain Wiles’ phone records. The additional disclosure that agents tracked Melania and Barron’s travel shows that the investigation stretched even further than previously described.
Smith was not yet special counsel when FBI agents raided Mar-a-Lago in 2022. He took over the investigation soon afterward, and the source argues that he knew about the tracking of Melania and Barron as well as the surveillance involving Wiles.
The Mar-a-Lago raid itself had already drawn outrage because agents searched through areas containing Melania Trump’s personal belongings, including her lingerie drawer. The newly released details now place that search within a broader pattern of monitoring described in the documents.
Former Attorney General Merrick Garland approved the surveillance involving Wiles after receiving advice from then FBI Director Christopher Wray. A May 2022 memo from Wray warned that the sensitive investigation could include leading figures from the 45th president’s administration.
Wray’s memo said the investigation “could potentially be disruptive to the democratic process if publicly disclosed prior to an election.” Despite that warning, Wray recommended that Garland move forward with the request.
At the bottom of the memo, Wray added a handwritten recommendation: “Merrick, I recommend you approve. CW.” Garland then signed off on what the Wiles wiretaps.
The disclosure presents a stark contrast between the FBI’s stated awareness of the political sensitivity and its decision to proceed. Officials knew public disclosure before an election could disrupt the democratic process, yet surveillance connected to prominent Trump figures still received approval.
The controversy surrounding Smith has also been fueled by his recent public appearance at a music festival opposed to Trump. The festival was headlined by Bruce Springsteen, and Smith attended while wearing a shirt bearing the words “No Kings.”
That appearance reinforced that Smith operated as a partisan rather than an impartial prosecutor. It came as additional details about the scope of the investigation were becoming public.
The surveillance did not stop with Trump’s advisers or political associates. Based on the released documents, agents tracked the travel of the first lady and her son while preparing for the Mar-a-Lago search.
At the same time, investigators collected call details tied to Wiles and people communicating with her. Although the documents say conversation contents were not collected, the surveillance still covered communications involving lawyers, campaign advisers, and journalists.
The expanding record leaves Smith, Garland, and Wray facing serious questions about the investigation’s scope and approval. Tracking Melania and Barron while monitoring Wiles’ call activity makes the Biden era operation look less like restrained law enforcement and more like a sprawling political dragnet.