Two federal prosecutors who later joined Jack Smith’s special counsel team openly admitted to each other that they ignored Department of Justice protocols designed to protect privileged communications during the early stages of the investigation into President Donald Trump.
“I ignored the written description of filtering the other night,” prosecutor Molly Gaston messaged her colleague J.P. Cooney in February 2021, according to documents obtained exclusively by The Federalist from Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA). “Me too,” Cooney replied.
The exchange, released Monday ahead of Smith’s Tuesday testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, reveals a casual disregard for constitutional protections that Americans depend on to shield their communications with attorneys from government eyes.
Gaston described the filter guidance as “not tenable,” apparently justifying her decision to bypass the rules entirely. Cooney called the situation a “cluster.”
The filter guidance at issue governs how prosecutors and FBI agents must handle documents that may contain privileged materials, such as attorney-client communications. Standard DOJ practice requires a “taint team,” a separate group of personnel who review documents first and redact or withhold protected communications before prosecutors ever see them.
But during the initial stages of the Arctic Frost investigation targeting Trump, no taint team existed. Instead, agents and prosecutors received written guidance telling them to “stop and freeze” if they encountered potentially privileged material. Both Gaston and Cooney admitted they ignored even that minimal protection.
The documents provided to Grassley suggest this ad hoc approach continued for well over a year. A presentation slide included in the materials states that “over 50 Department of Justice Personnel (DOJ and FBI) have participated in the Filter Team Since June 2022,” with the first document coded on June 17, 2022. That timeline indicates more than a year passed between the February 2021 text exchange and the establishment of any formal filter team.
The communications came during a period when Tim Thibault remained a key player pushing for an investigation into the former president. Biden had just been inaugurated weeks earlier.
Cooney mentioned in the exchange that someone named “Liz” was working to fix the process, but the documents leave unclear exactly how evidence was filtered, if at all, during those critical early months.
Grassley released the documents ahead of Smith’s appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee, where the special counsel faces questions about the conduct of his team throughout the Trump prosecutions. The Iowa Republican has long pressed for accountability regarding what he views as politicized investigations originating from the Biden-era Justice Department.
