By The Daily Caller (U.S.) | Created at 2026-10-06 17:51:52 | Updated at 2026-10-07 19:50:16
1 day ago
Then-President Joe Biden’s FBI tapped White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles’ phone and tracked Melania and Barron Trump’s travel as part of a probe into President Donald Trump.
The surveillance, detailed in a White House report released Monday, code-named “Plasmic Echo,” took place in 2022 when the FBI monitored the movements of Melania and Barron to find the ideal time to raid President Donald Trump’s estate for the sensitive documents the president had brought to his Palm Beach home between terms. (RELATED: Whistleblower Who Exposed Howard Lutnick’s Epstein Ties Found Dead)
Following the advice of then-FBI Director Christopher Wray, then-Attorney General Merrick Garland signed off on the wiretaps in March 2022.
Wray acknowledged that if news of an investigation into a declared presidential candidate got out, it could “potentially be disruptive to the democratic process” leading up to an election.
Additionally, an email exchange between FBI agents included the task to “Finalize FBI understanding of FPOTUS/FLOTUS/minor son’s travel (type of aircraft and specific timeline),” before a search warrant could be issued.
White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles listens as President Donald Trump announces the creation of the U.S. strategic critical minerals reserve during an event in the Oval Office of the White House on February 02, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
After the Florida estate was raided in August 2022, the FBI began wiretapping Wiles’ cellphone between February and May the next year.
Logs showed the FBI tracked calls between Wiles and lawyers, campaign aides, political advisers, journalists, Trump, and the current FBI director, Kash Patel.
In a statement to the New York Post, White House spokesperson Lauren Bis said that the surveillance operation, as led by special counsel Jack Smith, was “a disgraceful abuse of government power.”
“Spying on political opponents is weaponization of law enforcement, plain and simple,” Bis added, “Those responsible must be held accountable.”
Plasmic Echo joins one of the many other attempts, such as Crossfire Hurricane, Round River, Arctic Frost, and the Steele dossier, in which government agencies conducted surveillance on Trump during his campaigns.
