Indian-American Congressman Suhas Subramanyam revealed that the FBI monitored his phone calls with a Virginia state senator, raising concerns about the surveillance’s timing and implications for political accountability.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Indian-American Congressman Suhas Subramanyam has disclosed that the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice informed him that his telephone conversations with a senior Virginia state lawmaker were monitored as part of a federal investigation. He described the surveillance as “deeply concerning” and noted that its timing appeared “extremely suspicious.”
Subramanyam, a Democrat representing Virginia’s 10th Congressional District, made the announcement on September 3. The monitored conversations were with Virginia State Senator Louise Lucas, who holds the position of President Pro Tempore of the state Senate.
“The FBI and DOJ recently informed me that my phone conversations with State Senator and President Pro Tempore Louise Lucas were being monitored as part of their investigation into Senator Lucas,” Subramanyam stated. “This is deeply concerning.”
The Congressman indicated that the wiretap occurred between March and May, a politically significant period in Virginia. “The timing of this wiretap and investigation is extremely suspicious,” he remarked. “The tap took place between March and May, which was at the peak of campaigning for the redistricting referendum in Virginia.”
Subramanyam also connected the timing of the surveillance to congressional efforts to question U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi regarding the investigation involving Jeffrey Epstein. “This was also while the Oversight Committee was calling on Pam Bondi to testify on the Epstein investigation,” he added. “This should concern anyone who believes in a real Department of Justice that serves the American people and not a singular President.”
He accused the Trump administration of weaponizing the Justice Department against political adversaries. “Trump’s DOJ has become his own personal law firm, with his former personal attorney carrying out vendettas on Trump’s political enemies,” Subramanyam asserted. “They have politically investigated multiple states’ Attorneys General and the former FBI director. Now they admit they have surveilled conversations by a sitting Democratic Congressman.”
As of now, the Justice Department and FBI have not responded to Subramanyam’s allegations regarding the motivations behind the surveillance.
It is important to note that Subramanyam did not claim that he himself was the target of the investigation. Instead, he stated that his conversations were monitored “as part of their investigation into Senator Lucas.”
Despite the unsettling nature of the surveillance, Subramanyam vowed that it would not deter Democrats from challenging the administration. “If this surveillance was done to scare us and to get Democrats to stop pushing back against Trump’s political overreach, they are mistaken,” he said. “We will not back down. We will continue our investigations into this President and his corrupt administration.”
Subramanyam, who was born in Bengaluru and raised in the United States, was elected to Congress from Virginia in 2024. He is a lawyer and previously served as a technology policy adviser in the Obama administration, as well as in the Virginia General Assembly, according to IANS.