A team led by former Special Counsel Jack Smith monitored the private phone communications of nearly a dozen Republican members of Congress as part of its investigation into the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, according to a newly discovered document.
The document reveals that the investigation, codenamed “Arctic Frost,” tracked phone records of Senators Lindsey Graham (SC), Marsha Blackburn (TN), Ron Johnson (WI), Josh Hawley (MO), Cynthia Lummis (WY), Bill Hagerty (TN), Dan Sullivan (AK), and Tommy Tuberville (AL), as well as Representative Mike Kelly (PA).
Titled “CAST Assistance” and dated September 27, 2023, the document was recently found by current FBI Director Kash Patel. “CAST” is an acronym for the FBI’s cellular analysis survey team. The file marks the case as a “SENSITIVE INVESTIGATIVE MATTER” related to election law.
An FBI special agent from Smith’s team conducted a “preliminary toll analysis” on the lawmakers’ phone records. According to an FBI official, this allowed investigators to see which numbers were called, the locations where calls originated and were received, and other metadata, but not the content of the conversations. The records were reportedly obtained in 2023 through subpoenas to major telephone providers, with a source suggesting the calls under review likely pertained to the certification of the 2020 election.
Upon discovering the record, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino scheduled briefings with the affected lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Both Bongino and Patel condemned the past surveillance. “It is a disgrace that… the FBI was once weaponized to track the private communications of U.S. lawmakers for political purposes,” Bongino stated, adding, “That era is over.” Patel echoed the sentiment, telling reporters, “We promised accountability for those who weaponized law enforcement, and we will deliver it.”
Officials indicated the document surfaced during a review prompted by an oversight request from Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA). Patel and Bongino then directed a more thorough review of the “Arctic Frost” case, which is now designated as a “prohibited case” within the bureau.
The “Arctic Frost” investigation was initiated in April 2022 and was taken over by Smith upon his appointment as special counsel that November. His broader probe into former President Donald Trump’s role in efforts to overturn the 2020 election, which cost taxpayers over $50 million, was ultimately dismissed by Judge Tanya Chutkan following Trump’s re-election.
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