{"id":4588,"date":"2026-07-16T04:08:22","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T04:08:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4588"},"modified":"2026-07-16T04:08:22","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T04:08:22","slug":"jack-smith-spied-on-me-in-congress-this-illegal-weaponization-needs-to-end","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4588","title":{"rendered":"Jack Smith spied on me in Congress \u2014 this illegal weaponization needs to end"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

One year ago, when whistleblowers first revealed that special counsel Jack Smith and the FBI had targeted Republican senators in a highly secretive and unconstitutional spying operation, I immediately picked up the phone and called my close friend and colleague Jim Jordan.<\/p>\n

Read more Josh Hart compares Argentina to Knicks after thrilling World Cup comeback over England<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cJim, there is no way that we weren\u2019t spied on,\u201d I said. \u201cThere\u2019s a larger list and my hunch is that we\u2019re both on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith\u2019s surveillance operation, dubbed Arctic Frost, was part of the obsessive and sustained illegal witch hunt aimed at President Donald Trump, his political allies and his voters.<\/p>\n

And for years, Rep. Jordan and I had been two of the most outspoken leaders in the House of Representatives against illegal weaponization \u2014 going back to our time on the Intelligence Committee, when we served on the defense team during the first illegal impeachment attempt of the president\u2019s first term.<\/p>\n

Now, thanks to the great, dogged oversight work of Chairman Chuck Grassley, Sen. Ron Johnson and others, we know that my instinct was right: The sweeping weaponization is wide and deep \u2014 and is an attack on the Constitution and the American people.<\/p>\n

Unlawful access<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Americans have long suspected that Joe Biden\u2019s hand-picked special prosecutor weaponized government at the highest levels, in part by unconstitutionally spying on members of Congress \u2014 including me \u2014 and by perjuring himself when Congress questioned him about it.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, newly declassified records confirmed exactly that.<\/p>\n

Smith\u2019s team unlawfully and unconstitutionally accessed my private text messages, along with 43 other members of Congress, in clear violation of the Constitution.<\/p>\n

They not only spied on the existence of text messages concerning our legislative and constitutional duties to represent our constituents and vote on their behalf; they illegally accessed the content of those messages, too.<\/p>\n

Then, when asked by House members directly and under oath whether he had surveilled those messages\u2019 contents, Jack Smith perjured himself and claimed that he had not.<\/p>\n

It was a lie \u2014 and knowingly making false statements to Congress is a federal crime, punishable by up to five years in prison.<\/p>\n

As President Trump has always said, the illegal weaponization of judicial power that has plagued him for the last decade was never just about him \u2014 it was directed against all his supporters, and anyone who spoke out against these abuses.<\/p>\n

Now we see that the weaponization targeted duly elected members of Congress, too \u2014 and by extension, our constituents.<\/p>\n

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This is not an isolated incident.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s just the latest, most egregious example of a widespread and dangerous effort to turn the federal government\u2019s powers against Americans themselves.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the worst such attempt in our nation\u2019s history, and I have spent years fighting to expose it.<\/p>\n

Criminal consequences<\/strong><\/h2>\n

As a leading member of the House Intelligence Committee and the Select Committee on Weaponization, I have worked to investigate and expose a string of these interconnected abuses: the Biden administration\u2019s collusion with Big Tech to censor Americans, the FBI\u2019s illegal targeting of traditional Catholics and of parents at school boards, the Russia collusion hoax, lawfare against President Trump and his allies, and more \u2014 all part of a broader pattern of illegal deep-state actions against political opponents.<\/p>\n

It is what led me to go to the mat against the Speaker of the House to pass a key provision in the Intelligence Authorization Act and close the \u201cComey loophole,\u201d so that Congress is now required by law to be notified of any counter-intelligence investigation into a federal candidate or elected official.<\/p>\n

The bombshell records revealed by the Senate Judiciary Committee this week confirm that unaccountable special counsels and federal agencies did in fact use their power to secretly and unconstitutionally surveil elected representatives without proper legal process.<\/p>\n

Accessing the private communications of lawmakers is an assault on the separation of powers, on congressional independence, and on the constitutional rights of every American.<\/p>\n

There must be criminal consequences for this egregious, unconstitutional and illegal abuse of power.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

That means prosecution for those responsible \u2014 and quickly enacting strong reforms to prevent any presidential administration, now or in the future, from wielding government tools against Americans or their elected representatives.<\/p>\n

Abuse of power<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The American people sent us to Washington to defend the Constitution, not to let it be shredded by politically motivated investigators.<\/p>\n

I will continue leading the fight against this appalling abuse of power until we achieve real accountability and lasting change.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what President Trump means when he says we must drain the swamp \u2014 because, even now, it continues to be shocking just how deep its weaponized muck goes.<\/p>\n

Read more News 12 axes scores of journos from Bronx, Brooklyn, Westchester and Connecticut newsrooms: \u2018Dire\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

Elise Stefanik represents New York\u2019s 21st District in Congress.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Elise Stefanik, a GOP representative of New York’s 21st District in Congress, says that she was spied on by Jack Smith, former Special Counsel for the United States Department of Justice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4587,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4588","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion"],"yoast_head":"\nJack Smith spied on me in Congress \u2014 this illegal weaponization needs to end - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4588\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Jack Smith spied on me in Congress \u2014 this illegal weaponization needs to end - 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