Newly Discovered Documents Show Special Counsel Jack Smith Tracked Communications of Eight GOP Senators
Recent revelations from FBI whistleblowers have exposed the extraordinary scope of Operation Arctic Frost, the investigation that formed the foundation of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s criminal case against President Donald Trump over his efforts to contest the 2020 election results.
The CAST Document
A recently discovered FBI document dated September 27, 2023, titled “CAST Assistance” (referring to the FBI’s cellular analysis survey team), reveals that the FBI obtained phone records for eight Republican senators and one GOP congressman as part of the Arctic Frost investigation. The senators whose communications were tracked include:
- Sen. Lindsey Graham (South Carolina)- Sen. Marsha Blackburn (Tennessee)- Sen. Ron Johnson (Wisconsin)- Sen. Josh Hawley (Missouri)- Sen. Cynthia Lummis (Wyoming)- Sen. Bill Hagerty (Tennessee)- Sen. Dan Sullivan (Alaska)- Sen. Tommy Tuberville (Alabama)- Rep. Mike Kelly (Pennsylvania)
The FBI sought and obtained data about the senators’ phone use from January 4 through January 7, 2021, including information about when and to whom calls were made, call duration, and general location data, though not the actual content of conversations.
Beyond the Senators: 92 Republican Targets
The investigation extended far beyond Trump himself, encompassing 92 Republican-linked individuals and organizations, including the Republican National Committee, the Republican Attorneys General Association, Turning Point USA (founded by the late Charlie Kirk), the Conservative Partnership Institute, and the America First Policy Institute.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley stated: “Arctic Frost wasn’t just a case to politically investigate Trump. It was the vehicle by which partisan FBI agents and DOJ prosecutors could achieve their partisan ends and improperly investigate the entire Republican political apparatus”.
The Investigation’s Origins and Scale
The Arctic Frost investigation was opened in April 2022 by FBI agent Timothy Thibault and formed the basis of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s elector case against President Trump. According to FBI documents, the investigation involved over 150 interviews, more than 400 subpoenas served, and search warrants for 10 phones including those belonging to 5 lawyers, 1 US Congressman, 2 White House officials, 20 other electronic devices, 7 iCloud accounts, and 28 email accounts, including former President Trump’s Twitter account.
The FBI acquired the government cell phones of both President Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence, with officials in the Biden White House personally assisting the FBI in securing these devices. Over the course of just four days in June 2022, the FBI Arctic Frost team spent approximately $16,000 in taxpayer-funded travel to conduct more than 40 interviews, serve subpoenas, and execute several cellular device search warrants.
The Special Counsel Charges
Special Counsel Jack Smith indicted Trump in August 2023 on four felony counts related to his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election, accusing him of repeatedly lying about election results and conspiring with others to try to improperly change vote totals in his favor. However, following Trump’s re-election in November 2024, Smith filed motions to drop all federal charges, and Judge Tanya Chutkan granted the motion to dismiss the Jan. 6-related indictment, formally ending the case.
In his final report released in January 2025, Smith stated he stood fully behind his decision to bring criminal charges and believed that “but for Mr. Trump’s election and imminent return to the Presidency, the Office assessed that the admissible evidence was sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction at trial”.
Grassley’s Assessment
Senator Grassley, whose oversight exposed the existence of “Prohibited Access files” - a file system the FBI uses to limit access to certain documents - stated: “Based on the evidence to-date, Arctic Frost and related weaponization by federal law enforcement under Biden was arguably worse than Watergate”.
The full extent of the Arctic Frost investigation continues to emerge as FBI Director Kash Patel and whistleblowers provide additional documents to congressional oversight committees.
Note: This article is based on publicly available documents and statements from Senator Chuck Grassley, Senator Ron Johnson, and various news reports about the Arctic Frost investigation as of October 2025.