Breaking: Trump Caught Spying on Lawmakers in Bombshell Scandal

Summary

The Parnas Perspective

Episode Summary: “Breaking: Trump Caught Spying on Lawmakers in Bombshell Scandal”

Host: Aaron Parnas
Date: February 12, 2026

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Overview

In this explosive episode of The Parnas Perspective, Aaron Parnas breaks the story of a major scandal: the Justice Department, under Attorney General Pam Bondi during Donald Trump’s administration, has been caught systematically tracking the search histories and movements of both Democratic and Republican lawmakers. This surveillance occurred as legislators accessed the semi-redacted Jeffrey Epstein files on DOJ property. The revelation, based on photographic evidence and direct lawmaker testimony, is described as one of the most profound breaches of trust between Congress and the executive branch in modern times.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Scandal Unveiled [(00:00–02:32)]

• Breaking News: DOJ is caught surveilling Congressional members from both parties during their investigation of the Epstein files.

• Photographic Evidence:

  • Reuters captures an image at the House Judiciary Committee hearing – visible is a DOJ-prepared document labeled “jayapal Pramila Search history,” listing what Rep. Pramila Jayapal looked at within the Epstein files.
  • Indicates individualized surveillance: “Pam Bondi had the Justice Department prepare one of these for each member of Congress.” (A: Aaron Parnas, 01:44)

• Technical Mechanism:

  • Lawmakers were given unique login credentials tied to their names each time they accessed DOJ computers to review the sensitive files.
  • “Every time they logged or searched a document, it was tracked.” (A: 02:27)

Firsthand Accounts from Lawmakers [(02:32–06:00)]

• Congressman Suhas Subramaniam Describes the Setup (02:32–03:23)

  “The DOJ set up four computers in a really tiny room... [W]e had to wait our turns... they have a unique login and password for each one of us. And what I'm realizing now is that they were tracking all of our searches and everything we were looking for.” (B: Subramaniam, 02:32)

  • House members not permitted electronics; only could use legal pads and pre-redacted materials.
  • Discovery that the AG was physically bringing search histories (with members’ names) to hearings.

• Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren on Surveillance (03:45–04:37)

  “These are notes that the Attorney General brought to the hearing today... And this shows a list of Democratic Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal... searches... [I]t’s a surveillance of Congress by the Trump administration.” (C: Lofgren, 03:45)

• Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace’s Technical Observations (04:56–05:43)

  • Mace verifies, as a tech-savvy user, that the system logs every file opened by each lawmaker – all attached to their name.

  “They're tracking every file that we open, and when we open it, they're tracking everything...” (D: Mace, 04:56)

  • Reveals that the tracking is visible if you know where to look, hence did not disclose specifics.

System Usability and Lawmaker Frustration [(05:43–07:46)]

• Outdated Tech and Intentional Obfuscation

  • “It looks like Microsoft from 95... kind of clunky to navigate.” (D: Mace, 05:47)
  • Searching and reviewing files is made deliberately difficult, frustrating those seeking truth.

• Concerns from Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez [(06:16–07:46)]

  “They are going to be recording this. And this is exactly why this whole process is flawed and a sham ... It is an outrage that they are spying on Congress.” (E: Leger Fernandez, 06:17)

  • DOJ does the bare minimum for transparency but handicaps Congress’s ability to thoroughly investigate.
  • Specific interest in New Mexico’s Zorro Ranch files hindered by redactions and poor system design.

  “It's clear that the redactions are haphazard, that they. They are redacting information that would be useful for somebody doing a true investigation to understand what the links are.” (E: 07:11)

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Notable Quotes

• Aaron Parnas (Host):

  “You're seeing now is a major breach of trust between the legislative branch and the executive branch, one that will have reverberating effects for years and decades to come.” (A: 00:43)

• Rep. Suhas Subramaniam:

  “What I'm realizing now is that they were tracking all of our searches and everything we were looking for.” (B: 02:48)

• Rep. Zoe Lofgren:

  “It’s a surveillance of Congress by the Trump administration.” (C: 04:17)

• Rep. Nancy Mace:

  “They're tracking every file that we open, and when we open it, they're tracking everything. And you can see the way that they're tracking you when you're logged in.” (D: 04:56)

• Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez:

  “It is an outrage that they are spying on Congress.” (E: 06:41)

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Memorable Moments & Key Timestamps

• 00:00–02:32: Breaking the story; presenting photographic evidence linking the DOJ to surveillance.
• 02:32–03:23: Rep. Subramaniam details the technical setup and personal realization of being surveilled.
• 03:45–04:37: Rep. Lofgren’s review of photographic evidence and outright labeling the acts as “surveillance.”
• 04:56–05:54: Rep. Mace explains visible tracking and the outdated system design.
• 06:16–07:46: Rep. Leger Fernandez’s immediate suspicion and condemnation of the process as a “sham.”
• 07:11–07:46: Redactions prevent thorough investigation; frustration voiced.

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Episode Tone & Speaker Perspectives

The overall tone is urgent, outraged, and direct. Lawmakers from both parties express bipartisan condemnation of DOJ actions. The episode aims to drive home the unprecedented nature of this breach and its grave implications for checks and balances.

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Closing

Aaron promises further updates as the scandal unfolds, encouraging listeners to stay engaged and informed.

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Transcript

[A]

We have breaking news this evening. Pam Bondi and the Justice Department have been caught spying on lawmakers, Democrat and Republican. And what could be one of the biggest breaches of trust within the three branches of government that we have ever seen before. And that's not an overstatement. Today, Democratic lawmakers, Republican lawmakers have confirmed that the Justice Department is actively tracking their movements, actively tracking their search history when they go in to go look at the semi redacted Epstein files on Justice Department property at Justice Department headquarters. And what you're seeing now is a major breach of trust between the legislative branch and the executive branch, one that will have reverberating effects for years and decades to come. As always, like comment, share and subscribe. You may not like the news, but like this, so people see what's happening. Subscribe. And subscribe to my substack. Click the link below to support my work. I want you to look at this image. This image was taken by Reuters today during Attorney General Bondi's hearing in front of the House Judiciary Committee. At the top of the page, it's a stunning image. It's in black and white. But the top of the page says, quote, jayapal Pramila Search history. Pramila Jayapal is a member of Congress on the Judiciary Committee asking Bondi several questions about the Epstein files. Below you can see a list of Bates numbers on the left EFTA and then a Bates number that follows it and then an explanation of essentially what that document says. So for example, the first one, quote, new Brazilian just arrived. Sexy and cute, 19 year old. That's a famous document from the Epstein files that's been floating around suggesting that they were trafficking a 19 year old Brazilian woman. And so you go down the list and you see all of the search history for Congresswoman Jayapal. Pam Bondi had the Justice Department prepare one of these for each member of Congress. And tonight Suhas Subramaniam confirmed to me that that's exactly what was happening. They had individualized login credentials when they went to go search these Epstein files. And every time they logged or searched a document, it was tracked. Take a listen to the Congressman. Explain this.

[B]

Yeah, so the DOJ set up four computers in a really tiny room in a separate building. And so all of us had to schlep over to the DOJ office, which is fine. And then we had to wait our turns on these computers. And when you get in, they have a unique login and password for each one of us. And what I'm realizing now is that they were tracking all of our searches and everything we were looking for. In fact, I think a photographer saw that Pam Bondi had a copy of some of the Judiciary Committee's searches with her at her hearing today. And so this is the setup. Right. And so then we come in. We're not allowed to bring any phones in. Okay, that's fine. But, you know, I brought in a legal pad and I brought in a binder with all of the emails I had that were redacted.

[A]

Now, you can watch the full interview with Congressman Subramaniam. I posted it earlier today. And he goes in to describe essentially the process by which he was able to look at the files. But he's not the only one calling out the Justice Department this evening. Take a listen to Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren talk about her experience and the experience of others. Take a listen.

[C]

Another photograph for you to take a look at. These are notes that the Attorney General brought to the hearing today. Okay. It was captured by a photographer who was in the room. And this shows a list of Democratic Congresswoman Pramila Ipal. You saw her in some of those clips of her search history. And this, of course, lawmakers are allowed now to go to a DOJ facility to sit down at a computer and to search unredacted files. We have learned from this photo that the searches that members of Congress are performing are apparently being tracked and then read by the Department of Justice, by the Attorney general. What do you make of that development? Well, it's a surveillance of Congress by the Trump administration.

[A]

It's totally improper surveillance of Congress by the Trump administration. You also have Republicans speaking out on it. Congresswoman Nancy Mace, who's been an outspoken critic of this Justice Department, especially as it relates to the DOJ's handling of the Epstein files. Take a listen to what she had to say this evening.

[D]

And I'm assuming, like, so I'm pretty tech savvy. I played around with the system. They're tracking every file that we open, and when we open it, they're tracking everything. And you can see the way that they're tracking you when you're logged in.

[E]

If you know where to look. Like, I really.

[B]

Yeah. How do you find that?

[D]

I don't want to say because I.

[B]

Don'T want them to hide it. Right, right, right.

[D]

But I can see how they're tracking us. So each of our. They give each of us a login with their name attached to it. And every single file that we open, regardless of if we even read it, every single file that we open. That file is tagged with our name. So they get the search history and the files that we opened, everything.

[A]

How easy is it to even navigate?

[B]

What's the physics?

[D]

It's like a Microsoft product. It looks like it just look. It looks like Microsoft from 95.

[B]

Like a computer lab.

[D]

Yeah, it's actually kind of hard to navigate. So, like, Microsoft from 95 was kind of clunky to navigate. This system is clunky.

[A]

Windows 90. Windows 90. Hear another congresswoman talk about how she knew that this was going to happen. I mean, remember, here's the thing. This is the only way that lawmakers could see the unredacted files. But take a. Take a look at this being on the search.

[C]

This is horrible.

[E]

When I went in there, that's the first thing I thought as I started doing my searches. They are going to be recording this. And this is exactly why this whole. Whole process is flawed and a sham one. How do they expect us to be able to go and investigate them when we're given, you know, a minute. Yeah, not a minute. When we're given limited time to review the. Review the files. They should be doing an investigation. They should be doing a thorough review and going after all of the people in those files that their name. Right. There are names there that they haven't investigated. It's their job. They're the Department of Justice. They should be doing that. And it is an outrage that they are spying on Congress.

[B]

Yeah.

[D]

You were there today, correct?

[E]

Yes, I was there today.

[D]

And anything stand out in terms of what you actually saw redacted and perhaps shouldn't have been?

[E]

Yeah, it's clear that. It's clear that the redactions are haphazard, that they. They are redacting information that would be useful for somebody doing a true investigation to understand what the links are. I was very concerned about what had happened in New Mexico because we have the Zorro Ranch there. And so, you know, that's what I wanted to look for. And the way they've organized it, the way they have the search engines, makes it very difficult. Difficult for us to see what happened.

[A]

But just makes it difficult because you can't actually search. Can't actually search. That's the issue. And so that's where we're at now. That's where we're at tonight. I have more updates in the morning. Make sure to, like, comment, share and subscribe. See you very soon with another update. So stay tuned for more. Hey, folks, thanks so much for watching. Feel free to add this podcast on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere you watch for the latest breaking news and daily hits throughout the day. Make sure to follow subscribe. See you soon for more Weight Watchers.

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