Senate panel probes Verizon's omission of Jack Smith subpoena for senators' phone data

A group of Republican senators, chaired by Charles Grassley, have escalated a Senate investigation into Verizon's handling of a May 25, 2023 subpoena issued by former Special Counsel Jack Smith as part of the FBI's "Arctic Frost" election-interference probe. The subpoena demanded toll-level phone records for multiple members of Congress, including Grassley and other senior Republicans. Verizon later confessed that the subpoena was missing from its October 2023 response to a congressional records request, attributing the lapse to a "human error" and noting its typical four-year retention policy for legal documents.

In a letter dated Thursday, the senators asked Verizon to specify when senior executives first became aware of the subpoena, why the company did not inform the affected lawmakers, and to produce internal discussions on notification obligations. They also seek clarification on whether the company considered notifying the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms. The probe highlights tensions over the Department of Justice's use of gag-ordered subpoenas, which previously prevented both Verizon and AT&T from revealing the requests for a year. The senators argue that full disclosure is essential to prevent future overreach and to preserve congressional oversight.