Newly declassified documents show the Biden-era FBI tracked travel by Melania Trump and her son Barron ahead of the August 2022 raid on Mar-a-Lago while monitoring the cellphone metadata of Susie Wiles, now White House chief of staff.

The records, released by the White House, describe an operation code-named Plasmic Echo conducted as part of special counsel Jack Smith's probe into classified documents at the Florida estate. Agents sought detailed information on the former first family's movements, including aircraft type and timelines, to determine the optimal time for the search.

One planning memo directed agents to finalize their understanding of the travel plans for the former president, former first lady, and minor son. The FBI executed the raid on August 8, 2022.

After the raid, investigators applied pen register and trap-and-trace devices to Wiles' phone from February through May 2023. These tools captured metadata on incoming and outgoing calls, texts, and voicemails but not content. Logs recorded contacts with nearly two dozen lawyers tied to Trump, campaign staff, political advisers, Trump Organization personnel, and at least five journalists.

On one day in March 2023, records showed Wiles making or receiving 39 calls. Entries also noted calls involving a number identified as the former president's vanity number, including a 16-minute conversation on May 19, 2023.

The documents indicate the surveillance occurred under the Biden Justice Department, with approvals involving then-Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray.

White House spokesperson Lauren Bis condemned the operation. "Jack Smith’s surveillance operation was a disgraceful abuse of government power. Spying on political opponents is weaponization of law enforcement, plain and simple. Those responsible must be held accountable," Bis said.

Former Democratic House Judiciary Committee counsel Julian Epstein called the tactics Nixonian. "It’s hard to think of good justifications for this. To me, it feels a little Nixonian," Epstein said. "If this report is true, then it’s pretty bad. If true, then those in charge at the time better have some darn good explanations for surveillance of family members and advisors talking privately to lawyers or exercising their free-speech rights with the newsmedia."