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Grassley says Jack Smith's probe obtained records of communications with nearly 50 journalists

Sen. Chuck Grassley said records from Jack Smith's Trump investigation include communications between nearly 50 journalists and government officials. Coverage so far comes only from right-leaning outlets, and Smith's response is only partly reported.

4 outlets · 0L · 0C · 4R First reported Account updated
Image: Fox News
Image: Just the News
Image: Breitbart
Image: Washington Examiner

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The story, neutrally told

Sen. Chuck Grassley, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said on 29 September that former special counsel Jack Smith's investigators obtained records containing communications between nearly 50 journalists and government officials. Fox News reported the disclosure first, ahead of a hearing in which Smith testified. According to a Grassley spokesperson citing whistleblower disclosures, the messages were in National Archives records produced in response to a subpoena for material tied to 87 phones from Trump's first White House.

The subpoena was issued on 2 June 2023, and the Archives produced records on 21 August 2023. Grassley named outlets including CNN, Fox News, the Associated Press, Reuters, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, NPR, The Federalist and the Mark Levin Show. The committee has identified the journalists but will not release their names, citing privacy.

The Washington Examiner noted the disclosure does not indicate the journalists were targets; their messages were part of the White House records. Grassley called it "disgraceful government overreach" and asked how the media would respond. Smith told the hearing his investigation followed Justice Department policies and was driven by evidence, not politics.

Earlier disclosures showed the same subpoena yielded communications involving 44 lawmakers, and Grassley and Sen. Ron Johnson have asked how privileged material was filtered.

Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on.

Left0 outlets

No left outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.

Centre0 outlets

No centre outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.

Right4 outlets

Framing
Presented as evidence of government overreach, largely relayed from Grassley's office, with Fox News as the source for the others.
Emphasis
Grassley's quote, the list of outlets, and the lack of media coverage of Arctic Frost.
Leaves out or plays down
No left or centre outlets covered the story. Only the Examiner says the journalists were not targets. Smith's response is mostly absent, and no outlet reports comment from the Justice Department or Smith's counsel.
Charged language
“disgraceful government overreach”“partisan media”“swept up”“surveillance sweep”
For example
“critics have highlighted the lack of concern or coverage given to Smith’s probe by legacy media” — Fox News
“Grassley for months has released records showing the surveillance by Smith’s team extended to a large number of Republican lawmakers” — Washington Examiner
“Nearly 50 journalists from national media outlets were swept up in the matter, according to a report by Fox News.” — Breitbart