Hawkeye Reporter

Under the Biden administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) launched an investigation in April 2022 codenamed Arctic Frost. Senator Chuck Grassley began congressional oversight of this investigation in July 2022 after receiving information from whistleblowers.

According to Grassley, “Ostensibly, the FBI investigation was opened to examine an alleged false electors scheme following the 2020 election. Since then, my oversight has exposed the partisan spear that launched the investigation to go after President Trump, his circle and poison his campaign to return to the White House. Arctic Frost created the framework that Jack Smith, a special counsel appointed by the Biden Department of Justice (DOJ), used to form his election case against President Trump.”

Grassley further stated, “Even before the special counsel appointment, I flagged the partisan bias of the senior FBI official who ran Arctic Frost. This official’s political tilt undermines the credibility of the entire investigation. FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Timothy Thibault was assigned to oversee public corruption matters. Ironically, he allowed his partisan views to corrupt his decision-making process and tarnish the rule of law. Whistleblower disclosures to my office revealed how Thibault bent FBI rules and, in so doing, weaponized the federal government to take down a political opponent. The Office of Special Counsel confirmed Thibault also broke the law; the Hatch Act prohibits political activity among federal employees while on duty.”

The investigation involved hundreds of subpoenas and numerous interviews across various locations in the United States at public expense. Grassley claims that evidence shows this was a broad effort targeting political opponents: “The facts show the investigation was a sweeping partisan fishing expedition to take down political foes. Earlier this year Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, chair of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, and I released tranches of whistleblower records detailing the plot to pin Trump in the Jack Smith electoral case. What’s more, my congressional oversight also found the probe targeted 92 conservative organizations, including Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA.” He credited whistleblowers for bringing these details forward and pledged continued efforts for government accountability.

On comparisons with Watergate, Grassley said: “My oversight work continues to pull back the curtain on the full extent of partisan misconduct at play in the Arctic Frost investigation. Most recently, I learned that as part of the investigation, the Biden FBI misused the long arm of the law to target at least eight Republican senators. In 2023, it sought and obtained cell phone ‘tolling data’ for their devices even though they weren’t under investigation. This is a serious breach of the constitutional separation of powers.”

He added that certain documents related to Arctic Frost have been classified as Prohibited Access Files within the FBI: “I’ve also discovered the Arctic Frost documents have been hidden as so-called Prohibited Access Files at the FBI to prevent them from ever seeing the light of day.”

Grassley described ongoing efforts for transparency: “No matter how long it takes, I’ll continue to follow the facts to shut down political misconduct that weaponizes government against law-abiding citizens. That means I’m crossing the t’s and dotting the i’s of my oversight work before holding public hearings as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.” He noted sending requests for records related to Arctic Frost from multiple federal agencies and telecommunications companies.

Reflecting on historical context, Grassley stated: “In the infamous Watergate tapes, President Nixon delivered the marching orders to fire a Pentagon whistleblower for telling the truth... History shows transparency brings accountability.”