Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, released on Wednesday 197 subpoenas that the Biden administration’s FBI used to seek testimony and documents related to hundreds of Republicans and GOP entities as part of the bureau’s Arctic Frost probe, the precursor to former special counsel Jack Smith’s election investigation.
‘Arctic Frost was the vehicle by which partisan FBI agents and DOJ prosecutors could improperly investigate the entire Republican political apparatus,’ Grassley said at a press conference. ‘Contrary to what Smith has said publicly, this was clearly a fishing expedition.’
Standing alongside Grassley, Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., called the subpoenas ‘nothing short of a Biden administration enemies list.’
The subpoenas included nonpublic, confidential grand jury material that Grassley said he obtained through whistleblower disclosures.
They sought certain communications with media companies, including Fox News, CBS, Sinclair and Newsmax and with ‘any’ members and aides in Congress. They also sought sweeping financial information from conservative entities.
Grassley has been releasing troves of documents related to Arctic Frost, a probe he says was politicized and lacked basis. Smith used the probe to bring criminal charges against Trump related to the 2020 election.
Lenny Breuer, a lawyer for Smith, said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital that Smith stands by his offer to appear publicly before the Senate and House to testify about his special counsel work.
‘As we informed congressional leaders last week, Jack is happy to discuss his work as Special Counsel and answer any questions at a public hearing just like every other Special Counsel investigating a president has done,’ Breuer said, adding that Smith wants a public hearing ‘so the American people can hear directly from him.’
House lawmakers have called on Smith to interview with them behind closed-doors, while Grassley has said he is still seeking more information from Smith and not ready for a public hearing.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, also raised at the press conference the controversial subpoenas for eight Republican senators’ phone records, which did not include the contents of phone calls but rather details about when calls were place and to whom. Cruz said he was also among the targeted senators, but he said his phone company, AT&T, resisted complying with the request and that AT&T was ordered by a federal judge not to inform Cruz about the request for a year.
‘We are going to get the answers of every person who signed off on this abuse of power, and mark my words, there will be accountability,’ Cruz said, signaling that the senators’ inquiry into Arctic Frost was far from over.
Smith brought four charges against Trump in 2023 alleging he illegally attempted to overturn the election, but the former special counsel encountered numerous hurdles during the federal court proceedings in D.C. and eventually was forced to dismiss the case after Trump won the 2024 election, citing a DOJ policy that discourages prosecuting sitting presidents.