In a significant development, special counsel Jack Smith has acquired cellphone records belonging to former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. This information was obtained from AT&T as part of the ongoing investigation into the events of January 6 at the U.S. Capitol.
Initially reported by Fox News, there was some confusion surrounding the release of McCarthy’s phone records. The report suggested that while Smith had indeed subpoenaed AT&T for these records, the telecommunications giant had initially told Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley that they had not released any information pertaining to McCarthy.
Subsequently, Fox News accessed a letter from AT&T to Grassley clarifying the situation. The correspondence revealed that McCarthy’s phone records were indeed shared with Jack Smith. AT&T explained that the subpoena specifically targeted a personal cellphone number and did not explicitly identify the records as belonging to a Congressional member.
AT&T elaborated, stating, “We identified the subpoena yesterday based on the phone number, correcting our previous response from October 24, 2025, which was based on a reasonable review of our records at that time.”
The company further clarified, “AT&T’s Global Legal Demand Center handles hundreds of thousands of legal requests annually. Unlike a May 2023 subpoena mentioned in our October communication, this recent subpoena targeted a personal cellular number, not a campaign account. It did not specify that the request was related to a member of Congress, as confirmed by press accounts.”
AT&T, though, notified Grassley that the company received a subpoena for McCarthy’s records in January 2023, separate from the May 2023 subpoena for other toll records, and allegedly inadvertently supplied those personal cellphone records to Smith.
AT&T said the subpoena “sought records for a personal cellular phone number” and that it did not in “any way indicate that the information sought related to a member of Congress.”
“We identified (the subpoena) yesterday as such based on the phone number in the subpoena,” the company said. “Based on this newly found record, we write to correct our October 24, 2025 response, which was based (on) a reasonable review of our records at that time.”
“AT&T’s Global Legal Demand Center receives hundreds of thousands of legal demands each year, and unlike the May 2023 subpoena discussed in our October 24 response, the subpoena we produced today did not seek records from a campaign account,” it continued. “Rather, as confirmed from press accounts, the subpoena sought records for a personal cellular phone number. It also did not in any way indicate that the information sought related to a member of Congress.”
“As a result, the subpoena processing center had no reason to believe that the phone number was associated with a member of Congress, and AT&T did not make further inquiries to the Special Counsel and produced the information as required by the subpoena,” it concluded.
Kevin McCarthy said in a statement to Fox News that “Jack Smith broke the law and seized my phone records as speaker of the House.”
“If corrupt justice will do it to the speaker, they’ll do it to anyone,” he said. “The DOJ has the authority and responsibility to hold him accountable.”
