The FBI secretly accessed the phone records of nine Republican lawmakers — including eight current senators under the Biden administration — as part of its "Arctic Frost" probe into alleged interference in the 2020 election, a bombshell document revealed. The revelation comes as a major blow to the then-Biden administration.
The exact reasons behind the FBI's espionage of the lawmakers remain unclear. The document exposing the surveillance was recently handed over to Congress, and on Monday, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) made it public. "Based on the evidence to-date, Arctic Frost and related weaponization by federal law enforcement under Biden was arguably worse than Watergate," Grassley said in a statement.
Shocking Revelations
"What I've uncovered today is disturbing and outrageous political conduct by the Biden FBI. The FBI's actions were an unconstitutional breach, and Attorney General Bondi and Director Patel need to hold accountable those involved in this serious wrongdoing."
The "Arctic Frost" investigation started in April 2022 and was later taken over by former special counsel Jack Smith. The probe focused on actions by President Trump and his allies to contest the 2020 election results, including their attempts to put forward alternate electors.
On Monday, Senator Chuck Grassley released a document dated September 27, 2023, titled "CAST Assistance," which refers to the FBI's Cellular Analysis Survey Team. The document stated that the bureau had carried out a "preliminary toll analysis on limited toll records," meaning it reviewed certain phone data.
Those whose records were reportedly examined included Senators Lindsey Graham, Bill Hagerty, Josh Hawley, Dan Sullivan, Tommy Tuberville, Ron Johnson, Cynthia Lummis, and Marsha Blackburn — along with Representative Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania.
The redacted document's case ID is labeled, "ARCTIC FROST—Election Law Matters—SENSITIVE INVESTIGATIVE MATTER—CAST."
Completely Unexpected
Johnson told reporters that FBI Director Kash Patel's team found the document when an employee tried to renew certification for the bureau's CAST system. The senators involved said they were completely unaware of why they had been singled out for investigation.
"The only thing we all had in common was that we're Republicans," Senator Bill Hagerty remarked, criticizing the Biden administration for the incident.
At this point, lawmakers believe the FBI may not have been directly listening to their calls but instead gathered phone records showing who they contacted and when those calls took place.
"We recently uncovered proof that phone records of U.S. lawmakers were seized for political purposes," Patel said in a statement. "That abuse of power ends now. Under my leadership, the FBI will deliver truth and accountability, and never again be weaponized against the American people."
Senator Grassley promised that Congress will continue probing the issue and suggested that former officials like Jack Smith and ex-FBI Director Christopher Wray could be called to testify about the matter.
"If heads don't roll in this town, nothing changes," Grassley told reporters, expressing his frustration.
Earlier this year, whistleblowers claimed that the FBI had also obtained phone records for former President Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence as part of the Arctic Frost investigation. Last month, it came to light that the probe had targeted 92 groups or individuals linked to Republicans, including organizations like Turning Point USA.
