Special Counsel Jack Smith and Operation Artic Frost - October 12, 2025

#OperationArcticFrost was the code name for an #FBI investigation opened in 2022 that has come under scrutiny by Republicans for targeting conservatives, including several Republican lawmakers.'

In March 2025, Republican Senators #ChuckGrassley and #RonJohnson released whistleblower documents related to the #ArcticFrost investigation. These records detailed aggressive investigative actions by FBI agents, including obtaining the government-issued cell phone of #DonaldTrump

In October 2025, it was revealed that as part of Arctic Frost, the FBI had secretly accessed data of multiple Republican senators and one House member. The collected data was from January 4–7, 2021.

Following the disclosure, Grassley, Johnson, and other Republicans wrote to the Department of Justice (#DOJ) and the FBI, demanding the release of all records related to the surveillance. They called the actions an unconstitutional abuse of power.

According to media reports, information from Arctic Frost formed the basis of special counsel #JackSmith's inquiry into 2020 election interference. However, criminal charges filed against Trump were dropped after he won the 2024 presidential election. [Because there was no case!]

Republican lawmakers have publicly condemned the investigation, with some, like Senator #MarshaBlackburn, calling for the firing of FBI agents involved. The "America First Policy Institute", named in the files, called the investigation a politically motivated attack.

Arctic Frost was launched by the FBI on April 13, 2022, as an investigation into "election law matters" related to the 2020 presidential election. Special Agent #TimothyThibault was identified as a key figure in the early stages of the investigation. Jack Smith was appointed special counsel in November 2022 and took over the probe.

Revelations of the ongoing revelations about the case are based on disclosures from whistleblowers who provided internal FBI documents to Grassley and Johnson.