A newly-released trove of documents shared by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) detailed internal Justice Department emails in which concerns were raised over security lapses involving classified information within the Special Counsel’s Office led by Jack Smith. Ironically, Smith’s team was investigating then-former President Donald Trump for allegedly leaking classified information at the time of the potential lapses.
The records, which were made public on July 8, pertain to the period when Smith’s team investigated and prosecuted former President Donald Trump on charges related to the alleged mishandling of classified documents stored at Mar-a-Lago. The messages discuss issues such as access to classified materials granted without confirmed “need to know” authorization, unaccounted movement of such materials, and a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) left unsecured.
One set of communications from July 2023 indicates that individuals received access to classified materials without verification of the required “need to know” basis. Separate exchanges from October 15 and 16, 2023, reference a “classified letter” that was left out.
On April 19, 2024, messages note that a SCIF accessible to Special Counsel’s Office personnel remained open overnight and potentially longer.
One DOJ official wrote that “no one opened it yesterday because no one closed it the day before,” at which point another responded, “That’s a violation and incident so I need to know the details.”
Another message from Carli Rodriguez-Feo, a Department of Justice veteran in the Litigation Security Group, urged personnel to check the SCIF before leaving because there was limited staffing available to oversee the secure facility.
Stephanie Van Buskirk, identified as an assistant to Smith, was noted as having opened the SCIF the prior day. Other personnel referenced in the exchanges include Molly Gaston, Thomas Windom, Julie Edelstein, and William O’Neil.
🚨 WOW! President Trump dropped this bombshell: Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team may have ILLEGALLY exposed CLASSIFIED information — all while investigating Trump for that exact same thing 🤯
Jack Smith is a dirty prosecutor. He must face JUSTICE!
“New documents released by… pic.twitter.com/2z0W8QlKKs
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) July 11, 2026
In a letter addressed to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, Grassley stated that the messages “raise serious concerns about the Biden administration’s failure to properly secure classified materials.”
Grassley added that “his conduct appears to show the Biden Justice Department may have mishandled classified information while it prosecuted President Trump for allegedly mishandling classified information.”
In a separate statement, Grassley highlighted the irony of potential leaks stemming from Smith’s classified documents case. “Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. According to these messages, Biden DOJ personnel may have committed the very offense for which Jack Smith was prosecuting President Trump.” He added that the records “expose yet another double standard of justice.”
Grassley’s letter requested specific information from the Department of Justice by July 22, 2026. The inquiries included whether the SCIF contained material connected to Smith’s prosecution of Trump, whether any internal investigation occurred into the incidents, whether any classified materials were compromised, missing, altered, or tampered with, whether anyone was held accountable, and whether Trump’s legal team or the overseeing federal court received notification of the security matters.
Jack Smith was appointed special counsel in November 2022 to investigate matters including Trump’s handling of classified documents after leaving office. Smith’s office ultimately obtained a grand jury indictment in June 2023 charging Trump with 40 felony counts, later superseded with additional charges, related to unlawful retention of classified information, obstruction, and false statements.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the classified documents case against Trump in July 2024. Cannon ruled that Smith’s appointment as special counsel violated the Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Smith appealed the dismissal, but the prosecution was not pursued to completion following the 2024 presidential election.
