(José Niño, Headline USA) Biden-era Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office obtained at least 4,782 personal checks from Americans who contributed to President Donald Trump or allied Republican groups, according to a Senate Judiciary Committee release.
The records, supplied to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley through protected whistleblower channels, involved contributors from all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The committee said many of the people whose checks were collected had given small amounts, including donations as low as one dollar.
The committee release states that the records covered contributions, including for donations as low as $1, made between September 2019 and August 2023. Each check reportedly contained sensitive material, including the donor’s home address, bank account information, routing number, and signature.
An Iowan frm Osage donated $10 to Pres Trump
Jack Smith subpoeaned their personal check & handed their private info incl home address + bank info 2 the Biden DOJ/FBI
When runaway Democrat govt is in power IOWANS pay the price pic.twitter.com/cace4EDzJC— Chuck Grassley (@ChuckGrassley) September 29, 2026
Smith’s office reportedly collected the checks during the Arctic Frost investigation involving Trump. Grassley’s office said the subpoenas gave the Biden era Justice Department and FBI access to private financial information connected to nearly 5,000 Americans, including 42 Iowa residents. The committee also said further subpoena returns could reveal additional donor records.
Whistleblower documentation reportedly shows that investigators routed the checks to former FBI Special Agent Walter Giardina.
Grassley confronted Smith about the matter during a Judiciary Committee hearing.
“No matter what you say, there’s no legitimate basis for what you did. Especially since your staff killed an investigation into the Clinton campaign. Donations to Republican groups wasn’t necessary to your investigation, which is proved out by the fact it wasn’t mentioned in your public report,” he said.
“Now, the Justice Department and FBI will forever possess thousands of people’s addresses, phone numbers, banks, bank account numbers, bank routing numbers and copies of their true signatures. Every member on this committee ought to be outraged for what happened to their constituents. Which one of my Democratic colleagues will join me in that outrage?”
The Senate release presents Grassley’s view that the subpoenas amounted to a serious invasion of political donors’ privacy. It also says the checks were obtained without the donors’ knowledge, though the release does not specify the precise legal process used for every subpoena or whether investigators examined every record they received.
Grassley’s office has posted redacted check copies that it says whistleblowers provided to the committee. Those documents form the basis for the committee’s count of 4,782 checks.
José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino
