FBI targeted hundreds of Republicans in Trump probe – Senate records
The FBI under former US President Joe Biden targeted several hundred Republican figures and organizations in its investigation into alleged 2020 election interference, according to newly released Senate records.
The investigation, dubbed ‘Arctic Frost’, was launched in April 2022 by then FBI Director Christopher Wray and later became the basis for a criminal case against President Donald Trump. The allegations stemmed from claims that Trump sought to overturn the results of the 2020 election, which he says was marred by widespread voter fraud. The case, led by then special counsel Jack Smith under Attorney General Merrick Garland, was eventually dropped in 2024 after Trump’s election victory.
On Wednesday, Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley of Iowa unveiled 197 subpoenas issued by Smith and his team during the probe, which he said were obtained from whistleblowers. According to Grassley’s office, the subpoenas were sent to 34 individuals and 163 businesses, demanding communications, testimony, and financial records related to at least 430 Republican figures and entities.
The subpoenaed records included correspondence with major media companies such as CBS, Fox News, Fox Business, Newsmax, and Sinclair, as well as communications with White House advisers and “any member, employee or agent of the Legislative Branch of the US Government,” Grassley said. The documents also detail requests for “preliminary toll analysis” on several prominent Republican lawmakers.
“Arctic Frost was the vehicle by which partisan FBI agents and DOJ prosecutors could improperly investigate the entire Republican political apparatus,” Grassley said during a press conference on Wednesday, adding that the released documents confirm the partisan “weaponization” of law enforcement.
Senator Ted Cruz of Texas said his phone records were among those subpoenaed and that Judge James Boasberg had barred AT&T from informing him about the request for a year. Cruz accused Boasberg of “abusing his power” and called for his impeachment.
“Arctic Frost is Joe Biden’s Watergate,” Cruz said on X, calling for accountability for the “partisan zealots who sought to corrupt the DOJ and judiciary to attack their enemies.”
Trump repeatedly slammed the investigation as a political witch hunt and an attempt to derail his 2024 presidential bid. Responding to the latest revelations, he declared that Smith, Wray, Garland, and other Biden-era officials involved in the probe were “a disgrace to our Nation.” In a post on Truth Social, he urged that those responsible be investigated and imprisoned.
