Former Attorney General Merrick Garland authorized an FBI investigation into President Donald Trump despite concerns it “could undermine the democratic process,” according to newly released unclassified documents.
Documents released by the White House show that Garland signed off on an operation called “Plasma Echo” in the spring of 2022, which involved the FBI snooping into Susie Wiles’ phone records and monitoring the movements of Melania and Barron Trump. Plasmic Echo led to the infamous raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home on August 8, 2022, accusing him of mishandling classified documents.
The Plasmic Echo documents show coordination between the Justice Department and the FBI in the months leading up to the raid, and the extent to which the bureau later tracked Wiles. Wiles is a key ally of Trump and became White House chief of staff after winning the presidency in November 2024.
One of the documents that has been released is a memo from former FBI Director Christopher Wray to Garland about the operation. The memo states that the attorney general is required to approve investigations involving the president, his staff, or presidential candidates.
“While members of the 45th President’s administration are no longer in office, the DOJ memorandum states that the scope of this policy should be interpreted broadly to ensure that department leadership is aware of issues that could undermine the democratic process if publicly disclosed before an election,” Wray wrote in the memo, “encouraging the FBI to err on the side of caution or seek approval if there are any questions about whether this policy requires raising such issues.”
Garland approved the memo, and then-Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco wrote in the memo: “Merrick, I recommend that you approve it.”
Other documents in the batch include a series of emails outlining FBI actions leading up to the Mar-a-Lago raid. It included a note “Finalizing FBI investigation into [former president/former first lady/minor son’s] Travel (type of plane and specific timing),” referring to Melania and Barron Trump’s actions.
FBI email.
After the raid, the FBI conducted extensive snooping on Wiles’ phone calls and text messages from February to May 2023. The FBI maintained records of incoming and outgoing calls involving Wiles, the identity of the caller, the frequency of the calls and text messages sent by senior Trump officials, documents show.
FBI email.
FBI agents conducted the raid months before Trump announced his candidacy for president in November 2022. After the raid, Garland appointed Jack Smith as special counsel to oversee the case against Trump. After Trump won the presidency in November 2024, Smith dropped the case.
“Jack Smith’s surveillance operation was a disgraceful abuse of government power,” White House spokesperson Lauren Bice said. “Surveillance on political opponents is the weaponization of law enforcement, plain and simple. Those responsible must be held accountable.”