Biden-Era FBI Surveillance of Trump Inner Circle Revealed in Newly Declassified Documents

Newly declassified records show extensive surveillance of Trump family travel and personal associates by the FBI during the investigation into classified documents. The operation, known as “Plasmic Echo,” monitored key figures around former President Trump as federal officials probed whether he improperly retained classified materials after leaving office.

The declassified documents reveal activities including tracking the travels of Melania Trump and Barron Trump, plus surveillance of phone communications involving Susie Wiles, Trump’s future White House Chief of Staff. These actions formed part of the preparatory measures for a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago, authorized by Attorney General Merrick Garland and executed by the FBI on August 8, 2022.

“Jack Smith’s surveillance operation was a disgraceful abuse of government power,” said White House spokesperson Lauren Bis to Fox News Digital. “Spying on political opponents is weaponization of law enforcement.”

The scope of the investigation, led by Special Counsel Jack Smith, had previously been the subject of scrutiny during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing regarding tactics used in a separate probe into Trump’s challenges to the 2020 election. The records related to “Plasmic Echo” provide further insight into the complicated law enforcement and legal strategies that unfolded.

Operational planning emails from May 2022 show FBI agents prepared for the Mar-a-Lago search with planned raid sequences contingent upon the presence of FPOTUS (Former President of the United States), FLOTUS (First Lady of the United States), and their minor son. Searches were scheduled following their departure from Mar-a-Lago.

The August raid authorized the search of offices, storage rooms, and other areas used by Trump and his staff, resulting in the collection of numerous documents. More than 100 documents were flagged with classification marks, ranging from confidential to top secret.

The documents reveal a contentious internal struggle between FBI personnel and the broader Department of Justice. Agent teams pushed back against the DOJ’s aggressive strategy, raising concerns about a lack of probable cause required for the search warrants and criticizing time lost “fixated on probable cause”.

In addition to the Trump family’s activities, newly declassified records disclose monitoring of Susie Wiles’ cellphone communications. This surveillance took place from February to May 2023, capturing detailed logs of calls, missed calls, text messages, and voicemails with numerous defense lawyers, political advisors, and journalists.

The real-time surveillance took place before, during, and after key interviews Wiles conducted with Smith’s team and FBI agents, detailing interactions such as her interview on April 7, 2023, in Jacksonville, Florida.

Stepheny Price, a writer for Fox News, specializes in stories about West Coast and Midwest news, missing persons, national and international crime including homicide cases, and border security.