CJ Pearson, Co-Chair of the GOP Youth Advisory Council, has alleged that Special Counsel Jack Smith improperly surveilled Republican Senators during the investigation into the events of January 6, 2021. Pearson made this statement on X.
“It was just revealed that deranged Jack Smith was spying on nearly a dozen Republican Senators during his January 6 witch hunt,” said Pearson. “He was allegedly tracking their phone calls and communications by subpoenaing telephone providers. One of the most corrupt and odious figures in the history of the United States government.”
Special Counsel Jack Smith was appointed in November 2022 to oversee federal investigations into former President Donald Trump, including those related to January 6. According to AP News, Smith’s team sought phone metadata from several Republican lawmakers as part of its inquiry into efforts to block the certification of the 2020 election results. In 2025, Republican senators disclosed that subpoenas had been issued to telecom providers for these records, raising concerns about the surveillance of sitting members of Congress.
AP News reports that a 2023 FBI memo obtained by Republican lawmakers revealed that call metadata from eight GOP senators was collected during the January 6 investigation. The data included information on the timing, duration, and recipients of calls made between January 4 and January 7, 2021. The FBI said that only metadata—not call content—was retrieved. However, this revelation has prompted bipartisan concern regarding potential executive overreach into legislative communications.
The New York Times reported that in 2017 and 2018, the Trump-era Department of Justice secretly subpoenaed Apple and Microsoft for metadata linked to members of the House Intelligence Committee. This included records associated with Representatives Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell, as well as their family members and staff. This effort was disclosed in 2021 and marked a rare instance where congressional communications were involved in a federal investigation.
According to his official biography on the GOP website and reporting by Time magazine, CJ Pearson is a conservative activist who gained national attention as a teenager. He currently serves as National Co-Chair of the GOP Youth Advisory Council, a role he assumed in 2023 to help lead efforts aimed at engaging young Republican voters. Pearson has previously endorsed Republican candidates and built a social media following through his political commentary.
The GOP Youth Advisory Council was established by the Republican National Committee in 2023 with the aim of advising party leadership on strategies for engaging young voters. As reported by The Peachtree Times, this council includes Gen Z leaders like Pearson and focuses on promoting conservative values among youth through outreach initiatives, digital media campaigns, and public advocacy efforts. The group operates as an internal advisory body without formal legislative power.
