Grassley releases DOJ memo showing Biden officials approved Trump probe

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, on Thursday released an April 2022 Justice Department memo showing that then-Attorney General Merrick Garland, then-Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco and then-FBI Director Christopher Wray personally approved an FBI investigation into allegations that Trump campaign associates sought to prevent Congress from certifying the 2020 election.

Grassley published the four-page memorandum on

The Iowa Republican added: “My oversight will continue.”

The April 2022 memo, signed by Garland, Monaco and Wray, authorized the FBI’s Washington Field Office to open what the bureau described as a “Sensitive Matter of Investigation.” The document details the FBI’s request to examine whether individuals affiliated with Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign conspired to prevent Congress from certifying the Electoral College on January 6, 2021.

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“Following the 2020 Presidential and Vice Presidential elections, fraudulent electoral vote certificates purporting to represent actual electoral votes from the states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, and Wisconsin were submitted to the U.S. Archivist in an apparent effort to prevent Congress from certifying the Electoral College,” the executive summary states. The statement is included. “Open source reports and public statements made by individuals closely associated with Donald J. Trump, Inc. (Trump Campaign) provide an articulable factual basis that indicates the existence of a federal crime, and therefore the FBI intends to launch a full investigation.

“Because this investigation involves a SIM, as set forth in the Department of Justice circular dated February 5, 2020, titled ‘Additional Requirements for the Opening of Certain Sensitive Investigations’ (DOJ Notice), your consent is required before WFO can initiate this full investigation,” the document continued.

At the bottom of the document, Monaco wrote, “Merrick, I suggest you approve it,” before initialing it and placing the date 4/5/22. Garland ultimately signed off on the investigation the same day.

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The authorization comes more than a year after the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, and months before former Special Counsel Jack Smith was appointed to oversee related investigations. The memo appears to document the first phase of the Justice Department’s review of the so-called “fake voters” effort that became the focus of Smith’s investigation.

Smith subpoenaed phone records of eight Republican senators and one House member, covering a four-day period from Jan. 4 to Jan. 7, 2021, to examine search activity around the 2023 Capitol riot. The content of the summons was not sought in the subpoenas; instead, numbers, dates, and durations were listed.

Senators targeted included Republican Sens. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Josh Hawley of Missouri and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.

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U.S. special counsel Jack Smith speaks at a news conference in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, August 1, 2023. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, along with eight senators, told Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Tuesday that Smith had also recently tried to subpoena pay records but discovered that phone company AT&T had not turned them over.

Smith said the recordings were narrowly tailored and “entirely appropriate,” adding that they should support his investigation into Trump’s alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.

Senator Chuck Grassley, a Republican from Iowa and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, speaks at a hearing on Tuesday, September 16, 2025 in Washington, DC, USA. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

His lawyers wrote to Grassley, saying the subpoenas complied with Justice Department policy and were routine.

Republicans generally alleged improper surveillance and compared Arctic Frost to the Watergate scandal. Smith’s lawyers emphasized that searching for phone records is normal and said public officials are not immune from investigation.

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Smith’s attorneys also disputed FBI Director Kash Patel’s accusations that the subpoenas were suppressed, noting that the requests were set out in a footnote of Smith’s final report and shared with Trump’s defense team during discovery.

Fox News Digital’s Ashley Oliver contributed to this report.