The Arctic Frost investigation is an informal label for an investigation that, according to documents released by Senator Chuck Grassley, involved FBI "preliminary toll analysis" (phone metadata checks) and the issuing of 197 subpoenas seeking records on approximately 430 Republican individuals and entities, including nine U.S. lawmakers, in the context of post-2020 election inquiries. [1] [2]
In 2023, Special Counsel Jack Smith filed charges concerning alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election. Newsweek reported that the later-disclosed "Arctic Frost" activity pertained to communications analysis relevant to those inquiries. [1]
Documents later disclosed showed the "Arctic Frost" investigation began on April 5, 2022, when FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Timothy Thibault opened the case at the FBI's Washington Field Office, with personal approval from Attorney General Merrick Garland, FBI Director Christopher Wray, and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. [3] The investigation was transferred to Smith's oversight in November 2022.
Initial reports in October 2025 indicated that phone toll records were analyzed for eight Republican senators and one House member. Subsequently released documents revealed significantly broader scope.
According to Senate Judiciary Committee documents released October 29, 2025, Arctic Frost issued 197 subpoenas seeking records on approximately 430 Republican individuals and entities. [2] Documents show the investigation targeted 92 Republican-linked individuals and organizations, including political groups such as Turning Point USA, the Republican National Committee, and Conservative Partnership Institute, along with individuals including Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Steve Bannon, and others. [4]
Newsweek reported that a one-page, unclassified document listed eight Republican senators whose phone toll records were analyzed: Lindsey Graham, Bill Hagerty, Josh Hawley, Dan Sullivan, Tommy Tuberville, Ron Johnson, Cynthia Lummis, and Marsha Blackburn, along with Republican representative Mike Kelly. [5] The document characterized the work as "preliminary toll analysis." FBI director Kash Patel and Senate majority leader John Thune criticized the activity as an abuse of power. [1] Axios reported that over 160 Republican lawmakers "may have been investigated". [6]
Documents later clarified that approximately 160 Republican figures may have been investigated as part of the broader operation, though this figure includes individuals and organizations beyond elected lawmakers. [6]
Major telecommunications carriers responded differently to the subpoenas. AT&T refused to comply after questioning the legal basis for requesting records of members of Congress, and Special Counsel Smith did not pursue the subpoena further. [7] Verizon complied with all subpoenas, producing phone records for 12 phone numbers associated with Republican lawmakers spanning January 4-7, 2021. [8] Following the revelations, Verizon announced policy changes requiring escalation to senior leadership before complying with subpoenas involving members of Congress. [9]
The investigation obtained phone toll records (metadata showing call times, durations and numbers) rather than wiretapping (intercepting call content). Legal experts including Fordham University clinical associate law professor Cheryl Bader clarified: "The process 'was not a wiretap'. What was sought was basically a record of phone numbers dialed from a specific phone number." [10]
The FBI's extensive surveillance program targeting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. from 1963–1968, authorized by FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, is now considered to have been illegal and a violation of constitutional rights, despite having official FBI authorization at the time. [11]
The 1975 Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations (Church Committee) investigated FBI and CIA abuses, concluding that surveillance of political figures including MLK violated constitutional rights regardless of internal authorization. [12] The Committee's findings led to reforms including the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) of 1978. [13]
The Watergate scandal involved illegal surveillance and burglary of Democratic Party offices, but also included President Nixon's "enemies list" of approximately 20 political opponents targeted for IRS audits and other federal scrutiny. [14] Unlike Arctic Frost, the Watergate break-in itself lacked any legal authorization. However, the subsequent use of federal agencies to target political opponents—even through ostensibly legal administrative processes—was determined to constitute abuse of power. The scandal resulted in President Nixon's resignation and numerous criminal convictions. [15] [16]
The MLK precedent demonstrates that official authorization does not necessarily establish constitutional legality. What was "authorized" in the 1960s was later determined to be illegal abuse of power. Courts and Congress concluded the surveillance violated First Amendment (free speech/association) and Fourth Amendment (unreasonable search) protections. [17] [18]
According to documents released by Senator Grassley's office, Arctic Frost obtained phone toll records for nine federal lawmakers and issued 197 subpoenas for records on approximately 430 Republican individuals and entities. Legal scholars and Republican officials have raised several constitutional concerns:
As of November 2025, no federal court has ruled on Arctic Frost's constitutionality. Unlike Watergate (which resulted in Supreme Court rulings including United States v. Nixon ) or the MLK surveillance (condemned by Church Committee and resulting in FISA reforms), [23] [24] Arctic Frost has not undergone independent judicial review or bipartisan congressional investigation of its constitutional basis.
Senator Grassley's Senate Judiciary Committee continues oversight, having released over 1,700 pages of documents obtained through legally protected whistleblowers. [25] House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan has conducted parallel investigations.
On October 30, 2025, it was reported that Patel was firing Aaron Tapp, special agent in charge of the FBI's San Antonio office. Tapp had worked for the FBI for 22 years and had overseen Arctic Frost. [26]
Patel also fired multiple agents involved in the investigation and disbanded the CR-15 Public Corruption Unit in October 2025. [27]
In November 2025, at least four FBI agents experienced terminations, temporary reinstatements, and re-terminations related to their work on the investigation, prompting criticism from the FBI Agents Association. [28]
After the disclosure, President Donald Trump criticized Special Counsel Jack Smith and called for his prosecution. [29] [30] Other officials called for further review of the matter. [31]
On October 7, 2025, Senator Josh Hawley asserted that the FBI had been politicized by Joe Biden and improperly "tapped" the phones of several Senators to find out what they were doing during a couple of days around the January 6 United States Capitol attack, [32] though a fact check showed that this was untrue. The process "was not a wiretap," said Cheryl Bader, a Fordham University clinical associate law professor. "What was sought was basically a record of phone numbers dialed from a specific phone number." [10]
FBI Director Patel stated the agents "weaponized law enforcement against the American people" and announced the firings and unit disbandment. Senator Chuck Grassley, who led congressional oversight beginning in July 2022, called the operation "arguably worse than Watergate." [5]
On November 4, 2025, Representative Brandon Gill filed articles of impeachment against Judge James Boasberg over his role in signing subpoenas and gag orders related to the investigation. [33]
The Committee finds that the domestic activities of the intelligence community at times violated specific statutory prohibitions and infringed the constitutional rights of American citizens.