Alina Habba, a senior adviser to the attorney general and a former lawyer for President Donald Trump, accused the Biden-era Justice Department and FBI of unconstitutional conduct after reports said investigators obtained phone records tied to Kash Patel and Susie Wiles while they were private citizens.
On Newsmax's "Bianca Across the Nation," Habba was asked how such investigative steps could be taken against private citizens.
"They didn't have any basis" for the search, Habba said.
Reuters first reported that the FBI obtained phone records for Patel, now FBI director, and Wiles, now White House chief of staff, during 2022 and 2023 as part of then-Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation into classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.
Patel had previously warned about what he viewed as politically motivated law enforcement activity, Habba added.
"We've seen Kash speak about the fact that the former FBI, under the Biden administration, was weaponizing against private citizens that they saw as a threat and a campaign person who they saw as a threat."
"It is absolutely beyond anything I could have ever imagined," Habba said.
Habba pointed to reporting that Wiles' attorney allegedly knew of the records collection though Wiles did not.
"And to say that Susie Wiles now is evidently being spied on by the former FBI with her lawyer in a privileged conversation," Habba said. "This is beyond the pale of anything I've ever seen in America. It's not how we operate."
Habba credited Patel with taking action after becoming FBI director.
"And that's why Kash is laying down the hammer, as we've seen, and has gotten rid of anybody who would use the Justice Department or the FBI in a manner that is un-American," she said.
The FBI has fired at least 10 employees who worked on the investigation, according to reports.
Addressing calls for accountability, Habba said the current administration would proceed lawfully.
"The one thing I have to explain to the American people that always ask and say, 'Oh, we need to see arrests, we need to see arrests' — the difference between this administration and the last is that we follow the rules."
"We have probable cause when we make arrests, we go through our FBI the right way," said Habba.
"So if you want us to go out and just arrest or spy on people, no, that's what the DOJ did," she explained, adding that under Trump, "This DOJ will not do that."
"We will make arrests when arrests are warranted, but we will do so lawfully."
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Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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