Sen. Bill Hagerty, a Republican from Tennessee, speaks during a Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, May 16, 2023. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
An FBI official told Fox News Digital that Smith and his team were able to view which phone numbers the senators called, along with the location each call originated and where it was received.
Fox News Digital exclusively obtained a letter Hagerty, R-Tenn., sent to Verizon.
"This week, I received shocking news: without my consent and without my knowledge, the Federal Bureau of Investigation obtained confidential information concerning my cell phone use," Hagerty wrote. "Despite extensive public reporting of this extraordinary intrusion into my privacy—also amounting to an unprecedented intrusion on the separation of powers—I have received no communication or outreach from Verizon Communications Inc., which could have been the only source of this information."
Then-Special Counsel Jack Smith delivers remarks on an unsealed indictment including four felony counts against former President Donald Trump Aug. 1, 2023, in Washington. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Meanwhile, the FBI has terminated employees and disbanded the CR-15 squad. Patel announced the actions were taken in response to the revelation of the "baseless monitoring" of U.S. lawmakers.
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"We are cleaning up a diseased temple three decades in the making — identifying the rot, removing those who weaponized law enforcement for political purposes and those who do not meet the standards of this mission while restoring integrity to the FBI. I promised reform, and I intend to deliver it," FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
Patel also posted about it on X, saying, "Transparency is important, and accountability is critical. We promised both, and this is what promises kept looks like… We terminated employees, we abolished the weaponized CR-15 squad, and we initiated an ongoing investigation with more accountability measures ahead."
Brooke Singman is a political correspondent and reporter for Fox News Digital, Fox News Channel and FOX Business.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/hagerty-presses-verizon-over-fbis-access-his-phone-records-during-jack-smith-probe