A political firestorm has erupted on Capitol Hill following the release of an internal FBI document that reveals the bureau secretly conducted toll-record analysis on eight Republican senators as part of an investigation linked to the 2020 election.
Top Republicans are seizing on the disclosure, accusing the Biden administration of “weaponizing” federal law enforcement against its political adversaries.
Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) published the document on Monday, claiming it is “proof” that the FBI “spied” on sitting senators without proper justification. The one-page memo, titled “CAST Assistance” and dated September 27, 2023, is marked “UNCLASSIFIED//FOUO” and details authorization for a preliminary toll analysis—a review of call and text records—on limited phone numbers associated with several high-profile lawmakers.
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The senators whose records were scrutinized include Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Ron Johnson (R-WI), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN).
Grassley stated on X that the document shows the “Biden FBI spied on 8 of my Republican Senate colleagues during its Arctic Frost investigation.” That probe, according to Grassley, “later became Special Counsel Jack Smith’s elector case against Trump.”
During a press event, Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) characterized the program as a “fishing expedition” lacking a legitimate predicate. “This is major corruption that’s being revealed inside the Obama and Biden Department of Justice and the FBI,” Johnson asserted.
The “Arctic Frost” investigation, which focused on so-called “fake electors” in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential race, was reportedly expanded quietly to include Republican members of Congress and conservative organizations, according to Grassley and Johnson. “We wouldn’t know about the list of 100 Republican entities that were targeted if not for whistleblowers,” Johnson added.
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Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) called the revelation “extraordinary.” He stressed that none of the senators were targets of the investigation, concluding, “There’s no predicate. There’s no reason for this other than a fishing expedition, which should outrage and shock every American.”
The memo is dated nearly two months after Special Counsel Smith announced charges against President Donald Trump in August 2023. “They’re casting this net against members of the Senate and the House,” Johnson said, calling the action “outrageous.”
The document itself offers no explanation for why the senators’ toll records were examined, noting only that a “Special Agent” conducted the analysis.
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