Biden FBI spied on eight GOP senators, damning new doc claims: ‘Arguably worse than Watergate’
WASHINGTON — The FBI secretly obtained the phone records of nine Republican members of Congress, including eight sitting senators, under the Biden administration as part of its “Arctic Frost” investigation of 2020 election meddling, a bombshell document revealed.
Specific reasons for the FBI’s espionage of the sitting lawmakers are not clear. The document revealing the spy effort was recently turned over to lawmakers and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) released it to the public on Monday.
“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.
“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.
Arctic Frost began in April 2022 and was taken over by former special counsel Jack Smith later that year. It examined efforts by President Trump and his allies to challenge the 2020 election results, including by furnishing an alternative slate of electors.
On Monday, Grassley publicly released a Sept. 27, 2023, document titled “CAST Assistance,” which refers to the bureau’s cellular analysis team. That document claimed that the bureau had conducted “preliminary toll analysis on limited toll records.”
Lawmakers targeted were: Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), as well as Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.).
The lightly redacted document’s case ID is labeled, “ARCTIC FROST—Election Law Matters—SENSITIVE INVESTIGATIVE MATTER—CAST.”
Johnson told reporters that FBI Director Kash Patel’s team unearthed the document after an employee attempted to get recertified for the bureau’s CAST system. Senators were adamant that they had no idea why they were targeted by the bureau.
“The only thing we all had in common was we were all Republicans,” Hagerty said, blasting the Biden administration over the ordeal.
Lawmakers currently believe that the FBI wasn’t necessarily tapping their phones, but rather had collected records of who they called and at what time.
“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.”
Grassley vowed that lawmakers will continue to investigate the matter and hinted that senators may call former bigwigs such as Smith and former FBI Director Christopher Wray to provide testimony on what happened.
“If heads don’t roll in this town, nothing changes,” Grassley grumbled to reporters.
Earlier this year, whistleblowers alleged that the FBI obtained phone data on Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence as part of the Arctic Frost Investigation. Last month, it was revealed that the FBI had 92 Republican-linked groups or people, such as Turning Point USA, under Arctic Frost’s investigative purview.