59 of 96 Phones Assigned to Robert Mueller Probe Missing: GOP Senators

Then-Special counsel Robert Mueller speaks on the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, at the U.S. Justice Department in Washington on May 29, 2019. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) have sent a letter to the Department of Justice (DOJ) requesting more information about missing cellphones that were used by then-special counsel Robert Mueller during his investigation into former President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign.

In a statement, the senators said they were compelled to send the letter (pdf) after the DOJ failed to review more than 20 phones for record preservation after Grassley in September 2020 asked about a possible violation of federal record-keeping laws, following a Freedom of Information Act revelation showing records on devices used by Mueller’s team had been deleted.