FBI analyzed phone records of senators as part of Trump Jan. 6 probe, lawmakers say

BUT HE ALSO WANTS TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR. THESE ARE VIDEOS FROM FIVE AND A HALF YEARS AGO TAKEN BY JASON RIDDLE, WHEN HE WAS AMONG THE SEA OF TRUMP SUPPORTERS STORMED THE U.S. CAPITOL IN WASHINGTON, DEMANDING THAT PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP REMAIN IN OFFICE. I CAUSED A LOT OF HURT BY BEING DOWN THERE. I HEARD A LOT OF PEOPLE ALONG THE WAY. I SAID A LOT OF REALLY NASTY THINGS. IN JANUARY, WHEN PRESIDENT TRUMP ANNOUNCED HE WAS PARDONING 1500 JANUARY 6TH DEFENDANTS, RIDDLE TOLD US HE DIDN’T WANT IT. I HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT REALITY, AND PART OF THAT IS NOT TAKING ANY SORT OF, YOU KNOW, PARDON OR PASS OR ANYTHING FROM TRUMP THAT DENIES THAT REALITY, BECAUSE ONCE YOU DO THAT, YOU KNOW, THIS IS I’M RIGHT BACK WHERE I STARTED. AND AFTER RIDDLE HEARD THAT ANOTHER J6, PAMELA HEMPHILL, REFUSED HER PARDON, HE’S DECIDED HE WANTS TO MAKE IT OFFICIAL AND HAS REACHED OUT TO SENATOR MAGGIE HASSAN OFFICE, WHO CONFIRMS TO NEWS NINE THAT THEY’VE CONTACTED THE PARDON OFFICE TO MAKE IT HAPPEN. IF I’M EVER PROMOTING THAT MYTH, IF I’M EVER PROMOTING THIS, THIS LIE ABOUT THE ELECTION, ALL THESE LIES THAT TRUMP PROMOTES, I’M PROMOTING VIOLENCE. INVESTIGATORS SAY THAT RIDDLE STOLE A SENATE PROCEDURAL BOOK AND WAS DRINKING A BOTTLE OF WINE THAT DAY. NOW IT’S ALL A BLUR. I CLEARLY WAS OBSESSED WITH TRUMP. I WAS I WAS JUST MENTALLY JUST BEING HELD HOSTAGE TO SOMETHING THAT WAS JUST SUCKING ME DRY. AFTER GOING TO PRISON AND GETTING SOBER, RIDDLE SAYS HIS LIFE HAS CHANGED. HE SAYS THIS IS ABOUT MORE THAN JUST PUSHING BACK AGAINST HIS OLD HERO. IT’S ABOUT HOLDING HIMSELF AND OTHERS ACCOUNTABLE. THAT WAS A HORRIBLE THING THAT HAPPENED. AND YOU KNOW, I DESERVE TO GO TO PRISON. AND, YOU KNOW, SO DOES DONALD TRUMP. HE STILL DESERVES TO GO TO PRISON FOR THAT. AND I THINK MAYBE ONE DAY HE WILL. WHILE REFUSING HIS PARDON WILL MEAN FOR HIS RECORD, STILL ISN’T EXACTLY CLEAR. BUT RIDDLE ALSO SAYS THAT HE HOPES OTHERS WILL FOLLOW HIS

Updated: 5:37 PM CDT Oct 6, 2025

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FBI analyzed phone records of senators as part of Trump Jan. 6 probe, lawmakers say

Updated: 5:37 PM CDT Oct 6, 2025

Editorial Standards ⓘ

The FBI in 2023 analyzed phone records of more than a half dozen Republican lawmakers as part of an investigation into efforts by President Donald Trump to overturn the results of the 2020 election, according to information released Monday by GOP senators.Related video above: Jan. 6 Capitol rioter asks to formally refuse presidential pardonThe records enabled investigators to see basic information about the date and time of the calls but not the content of the communications, the senators said. The data encompassed several days during the week of Jan. 6, 2021, when pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol in a failed bid to halt the certification of the election results.The disclosure adds new detail to the since-shuttered investigation by the FBI and former special counsel Jack Smith into the steps Trump and allies took in the run-up to the Capitol riot to undo his election loss to Democrat Joe Biden. Trump was indicted in August 2023 with conspiring to overturn the results, but the case was abandoned by Trump's win the following year because of a Justice Department legal opinion that says sitting presidents cannot face federal prosecution.The subpoena for the phone records was disclosed by several Republican senators, including Chuck Grassley of Iowa, who chairs the Judiciary Committee that oversees the FBI. Grassley said the document memorializing the "preliminary toll analysis" was found in response to his request. The investigative step was approved by a grand jury, the senators said.Grassley called it a "violation of personal property and people's rights and the law and their constitutional rights."That document was dated Sept. 27, 2023 and lists the following Republican lawmakers as people whose records were apparently scrutinized: Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina; Sen. Bill Hagerty of Tennessee; Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri; Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska; Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama; Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin; Sen. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming; Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee; and Rep. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania.The document suggests the analysis was conducted by an FBI special agent whose name was redacted and that it was authorized by two supervisory agents. It does not say how or why those lawmakers were identified or whether any meaningful tips or leads emerged from that investigative work.Most of the lawmakers were part of a group of Republicans who planned to challenge the results of the 2020 presidential election. After the voting was disrupted by the rioters on Jan. 6, 2021, some voted to certify the results, while others still voted against certification.The senators said they would not be conducting their own investigation because they expected FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino — both Trump loyalists — to review the matter. Grassley suggested that more people at the FBI would be fired over the investigation, saying, "If heads don't roll in this town, nothing changes."

WASHINGTON —

Related video above: Jan. 6 Capitol rioter asks to formally refuse presidential pardon

The records enabled investigators to see basic information about the date and time of the calls but not the content of the communications, the senators said. The data encompassed several days during the week of Jan. 6, 2021, when pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol in a failed bid to halt the certification of the election results.

The disclosure adds new detail to the since-shuttered investigation by the FBI and former special counsel Jack Smith into the steps Trump and allies took in the run-up to the Capitol riot to undo his election loss to Democrat Joe Biden. Trump was indicted in August 2023 with conspiring to overturn the results, but the case was abandoned by Trump's win the following year because of a Justice Department legal opinion that says sitting presidents cannot face federal prosecution.

The subpoena for the phone records was disclosed by several Republican senators, including Chuck Grassley of Iowa, who chairs the Judiciary Committee that oversees the FBI. Grassley said the document memorializing the "preliminary toll analysis" was found in response to his request. The investigative step was approved by a grand jury, the senators said.

Grassley called it a "violation of personal property and people's rights and the law and their constitutional rights."

That document was dated Sept. 27, 2023 and lists the following Republican lawmakers as people whose records were apparently scrutinized: Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina; Sen. Bill Hagerty of Tennessee; Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri; Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska; Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama; Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin; Sen. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming; Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee; and Rep. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania.

The document suggests the analysis was conducted by an FBI special agent whose name was redacted and that it was authorized by two supervisory agents. It does not say how or why those lawmakers were identified or whether any meaningful tips or leads emerged from that investigative work.

Most of the lawmakers were part of a group of Republicans who planned to challenge the results of the 2020 presidential election. After the voting was disrupted by the rioters on Jan. 6, 2021, some voted to certify the results, while others still voted against certification.

The senators said they would not be conducting their own investigation because they expected FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino — both Trump loyalists — to review the matter. Grassley suggested that more people at the FBI would be fired over the investigation, saying, "If heads don't roll in this town, nothing changes."

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