GOP Lawmakers Demand Records On FBI’s ‘Arctic Frost’ Data Collection Targeting Lawmakers

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GOP Lawmakers Demand Records On FBI’s ‘Arctic Frost’ Data Collection Targeting Lawmakers

Special Counsel Jack Smith
Special Counsel Jack Smith

A large coalition of Republican lawmakers, led by U.S. Senators Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), has formally demanded that the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) immediately release all records related to the FBI’s ‘Arctic Frost’ investigation, which secretly obtained the call logs of at least nine sitting Members of Congress (MOC).

The demand comes after an October 6, 2025, briefing by FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino revealed that the FBI’s Washington Field Office possessed call logs from MOCs, dating from January 4–7, 2021, as early as September 27, 2023. The Arctic Frost investigation is described in the lawmakers’ letter as the basis for Special Counsel Jack Smith’s elector case against President Donald Trump.

Senator Britt, who called the FBI’s actions “indefensible,” joined Senators Grassley, Johnson, and a host of their Republican colleagues—including all MOCs known to have been targeted and all Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee—in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel.

The letter identifies at least nine MOCs whose call logs were targeted: Senators Lindsey Graham, Bill Hagerty, Josh Hawley, Dan Sullivan, Tommy Tuberville, Ron Johnson, Cynthia Lummis, Marsha Blackburn, and U.S. Representative Mike Kelly. RELATED: ‘OUTRAGEOUS’: FBI ‘Spied’ On 8 US Senators In Trump Probe That Became Jack Smith’s Case

The lawmakers are seeking a broad range of unredacted records, including all communications between the DOJ/FBI and the “Biden White House,” Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office, and cell phone carriers regarding the collection and subsequent toll analysis of the MOCs’ phone data. They are also requesting copies of the subpoenas used to obtain the records.

A key point of contention is the FBI’s assertion that many of the relevant records are subject to federal grand jury secrecy requirements under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 6(e). The Republican group is pushing back, asserting that the unprecedented collection of data on sitting MOCs raises “serious constitutional concerns” and that “Congress’ need for these records clearly outweighs any interest in secrecy.”

“The unprecedented nature of the DOJ’s and FBI’s actions in collecting [Members of Congress’] communication records falls squarely within Congress’ constitutional duty to thoroughly investigate potential abuses of power,” the lawmakers wrote.

They further requested that the DOJ seek immediate judicial authorization to release the materials, arguing that the situation constitutes a “uniquely exceptional circumstance that demands the release of otherwise protected records.”

The letter concludes by demanding “complete transparency” to thoroughly investigate the “Biden administration’s targeting of sitting elected officials and hold all wrongdoers fully accountable.”

READ: AG Pam Bondi Slams FBI’s ‘Arctic Frost’ As Political Firestorm Ignites Over GOP Senator Surveillance

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