April Fool’s
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/fbi-subpoenaed-kash-patel-susie-wiles-phone-records-federal-trump-investigation
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The Fox News post reveals that the FBI secretly subpoenaed phone records of Kash Patel (now FBI director) and Susie Wiles (White House chief of staff) in 2022-2023 as part of Special Counsel Jack Smith's probes into Donald Trump's 2020 election challenges and Mar-a-Lago classified documents, a detail first reported by Reuters.
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Patel described the subpoenas as "outrageous and deeply alarming," alleging they used "flimsy pretexts" and were buried in "prohibited case files" to evade oversight during the Biden administration.
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This disclosure highlights tensions over investigative tactics against Trump allies, with records labeled "Prohibited" to limit visibility, raising questions about FBI transparency in politically sensitive cases.
https://x.com/i/grok/share/6b89c65403964e40a009b420281724a8
Yes, Kash Patel did invoke (or "plead") the Fifth Amendment during his initial appearance before a federal grand jury in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents investigation (the case against Donald Trump, then a private citizen, led by Special Counsel Jack Smith).
Key details from multiple credible reports (including The New York Times, The Guardian, ABC News, AP, CNN, and others in late 2022):
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In October 2022 (specifically around October 13), Patel appeared before the grand jury but repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and declined to answer many (or most) questions.
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This was tied to his public claims that Trump had declassified the documents before leaving office (a key defense point in the case).
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Prosecutors later sought and obtained limited immunity for Patel (approved by a federal judge in Washington, D.C.), which compelled him to testify without his statements being used against him in any potential prosecution.
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He then provided testimony in early November 2022 under that immunity grant.
This sequence was widely reported at the time and resurfaced during Patel's later FBI Director confirmation process in 2025, where Democrats highlighted it as a point of concern (e.g., he was described as the first senior law enforcement nominee in U.S. history to have invoked the Fifth in such a context).
Invoking the Fifth is a constitutional right and doesn't imply guilt, but it was notable here because Patel was a key witness claiming direct knowledge of declassification events. After immunity, he did testify, though the exact content of that later testimony has not been fully public (some aspects were referenced in confirmation hearings and oversight letters).
This aligns with the broader context of the classified documents probe, where several Trump associates faced similar subpoena and testimony issues.
https://x.com/i/grok/share/fc49e700474e4a5c8cb107a3883f0fdf
DONALD J. TRUMP
June 19, 2022
The Honorable Debra Steidel Wall
Acting Archivist of the United States
U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
Washington, D.C.
Dear Ms. Wall,
I write to designate two individuals - Kash Patel and John Solomon - as my representatives for
access to Presidential records of my administration, pursuant to the Presidential Records Act, 44
U.S.C. §§ 2201 - 2207, and 36 C.F.R. § 1270.44(a)(4).
Kashyap Pramod "Kash" Patel can be reached at patelkpp@gmail.com and (516) 330-628. John
Solomon can be reached at Jsolomon@justthenews.com and (202) 236-5606. Both individuals
meet the requirements for access to records under 36 C.F.R. § 1270.44(a)(4).
Thank you for your attention to this request.
Sincerely,
PDJT
https://www.archives.gov/files/trump-pra-representatives-designation-letter.06.19.2022.pdf
An aide who once claimed he was with Trump when the former president declassified government records pleaded the fifth for the DOJ's Mar-a-Lago documents probe: report
https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-ally-pleads-fifth-doj-mar-a-lago-probe-nyt-2022-10