Grassley says Smith probe obtained data on 639,000 Republican supporters

US Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley released a memo on October 14 alleging that the Justice Department and former special counsel Jack Smith’s office obtained personal information on at least 639,000 Republican supporters, voters and donors.

Grassley said his findings were based on subpoena returns obtained through whistleblower disclosures. The memo was addressed to the committee’s Republicans, with a copy sent to ranking Democrat Dick Durbin.

According to the memo, spreadsheets contained names, birth dates, addresses, employment details and voter registration information. Financial fields included donation amounts and the last four digits of credit card numbers. Grassley said more than 148,000 spreadsheet rows were labelled as donors.

The senator also alleged that investigators obtained information about red MAGA hat sales, purchases and delivery addresses. He said the collected information covered the period from 2005 to 2021.

Grassley characterised the collection as excessive and beyond the special counsel’s remit. The release forms part of congressional oversight of the FBI’s Arctic Frost investigation concerning the 2020 election.

The memo lists attachments concerning Trump campaign merchandise, MAGA hat orders and a donation-data call sheet.