Rep. Russ Fulcher, R-Idaho, told Newsmax on Thursday that former special counsel Jack Smith's investigative team improperly accessed his text messages and contacts during its investigation of President Donald Trump and said those responsible should be held accountable.

Fulcher's comments came after Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, asked acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to investigate newly disclosed records showing Smith's team obtained and reviewed text messages involving dozens of lawmakers during its investigation into Trump's conduct in connection with the events of Jan. 6.

Grassley has said the records indicate investigators bypassed the Justice Department's normal filter team process that is designed to screen privileged communications before investigators review them.

Fulcher, one of 44 current and former lawmakers identified in recently released Justice Department records, said the experience was personal and left him convinced investigators exceeded their authority.

"Well, the good senator wants to have some evidence. I'll show him my old phone that I don't use anymore that has no text messages on it because it was removed by the special counsel during this investigation, along with my contacts, by the way," Fulcher told "National Report."

"And I watched that happen live. And so if you sense just a little bit of angst in my voice, it's because I'm irritated by it," he said.

"They had no right to do it. This is a separation of powers, illegal search," Fulcher continued.

"It took place while I was actually watching my phone, and it didn't take long to figure out who was doing it," he said.

"And, and we did. And it was absolutely incorrect."

Fulcher said investigators ignored those safeguards.

"And I am going to do my best to make sure that people are held accountable for this. And it was a very clear that they were supposed to have this bypass filter team," he said.

"So the filter team would get the text messages, they'd read them, look for privileged content, and then declare what could or couldn't be reviewed. They simply bypassed that."

Fulcher also pointed to Smith's congressional testimony.

"And then when asked under oath about whether he'd sort the content of text messages, Jack Smith said, 'No.' That seems to be pretty clear," he said.

The Idaho Republican said the investigation swept up highly personal communications.

"You know, I really hope they enjoyed reading the communication with my family and the business and, and, and everything else that we communicate with. On a personal note, I hope that was real entertaining for them," Fulcher said.

"But the bottom line is they were obsessed with pursuing this investigation of Trump. And who would have thought that a congressman might trade messages periodically with a White House administration or the president?" he continued.

"Well, of course, a lot of us did. A lot of us do," Fulcher said.

"This obsession pushed them into pushing the boundaries way out of kilter on their investigation, including on my texts and on my contacts."

During a Senate hearing Wednesday, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., urged Blanche to investigate whether Smith committed perjury over his prior testimony regarding the handling of lawmakers' communications. Blanche replied that the department takes testimony before Congress "very seriously."

Asked whether he expects anyone to be held accountable, Fulcher said he hopes so but argued the issue extends beyond one investigation.

"Well, I don't know. I hope so, but I will also tell you there are other efforts underway," he said.

"If you want to do understand why some of us are so passionate about the FISA [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act] warrants, for example, and the surveillance of Americans without a warrant, there's a reason why. If, if people want to wonder why we're pushing the data privacy legislation so tightly, there's a reason why: cybersecurity," Fulcher continued.

"And it's not just against nefarious third parties, it's against our own government. And so this is a hot button issue here," he said.

"And although I'm just one of 44 that's impacted directly by this, there's many more people that share the same sentiments. It's absolutely wrong to be surveilled illegally by your own government — or anyone else, for that matter."

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