Year in Review: Grassley’s Arctic Frost Revelations

BUTLER COUNTY, IOWA – One year ago today, U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) exposed the Biden administration and former Special Counsel Jack Smith for targeting Republican lawmakers’ phone toll records as part of Arctic Frost . Since then, Grassley has released thousands of pages of records outlining the sprawling investigation that targeted President Trump, his top officials, members of Congress, journalists, conservative organizations and nearly 5,000 American citizens. “In all my years of oversight, I’ve never before witnessed the level of corruption, misconduct and abuse of power that Jack Smith wielded,” Grassley said . “My oversight has shown Jack Smith’s prosecution was rotten from the start, used by the Biden administration to try to keep President Trump from returning to office and map out the entire Republican political apparatus. Arctic Frost and Smith’s Special Counsel operation allowed the ruling Democrat party to target lawmakers, journalists and thousands of Americans who dared to support Republicans. It’s also a warning of what may come if that power is restored. My investigative work will continue.” See a timeline of Grassley’s most significant Arctic Frost findings below. A full summary of his oversight is available HERE . January 30, 2025 | Grassley reveals the Biden U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)’s plot to pin Trump using Jack Smith’s election case, which began at the FBI under the codename “Arctic Frost.” February 3, 2025 | Grassley exposes FBI supervisor’s misconduct in opening Arctic Frost. March 14, 2025 | Grassley exposes the Biden FBI for obtaining the government cell phones of Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence. April 8, 2025 | Grassley reveals officials in the Biden White House personally assisted the FBI in securing Trump and Pence’s cell phones, before Trump was formally added as a subject of the Arctic Frost investigation. April 8, 2025 | Grassley reveals prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C., who would later join Jack Smith’s team, coordinated extensively with FBI agents in the Washington Field Office to plan, approve and execute Arctic Frost. September 16, 2025 | Grassley reveals 92 Republican targets were placed under the investigative scope of Arctic Frost, including Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA. October 6, 2025 | Grassley reveals the Biden FBI secretly obtained the phone toll records of at least eight Republican lawmakers as part of its Arctic Frost investigation. October 23, 2025 | Grassley reveals Biden Attorney General Merrick Garland and former FBI Director Christopher Wray personally signed off on opening the Arctic Frost investigation. October 29, 2025 | Grassley reveals Jack Smith subpoenaed records for over 400 Republican targets, including the financial data of conservative individuals, entities and fundraising efforts. November 14, 2025 | Grassley reveals Jack Smith obtained phone toll records from then-Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and met personally with FBI Director Wray. December 10, 2025 | Grassley reveals Jack Smith’s team knew about the constitutional implications of subpoenaing congressional data and U.S. District Judge for the District of Columbia, James Boasberg, approved the subpoenas. March 24, 2026 | Grassley reveals the Biden FBI obtained the phone records of FBI Director Kash Patel. April 21, 2026 | Grassley uncovers the existence of Operation Rampart Twelve, a predecessor case to Arctic Frost, which also targeted Republican lawmakers. July 14, 2026 | Grassley reveals Jack Smith’s team obtained and reviewed text messages from 44 members of Congress – a clear violation of the constitutional Speech or Debate Clause. September 29, 2026 | Grassley reveals Jack Smith obtained private communications between nearly 50 journalists and their government sources. September 29, 2026 | Grassley reveals Jack Smith’s team collected personal financial information from nearly 5,000 Americans in all 50 states, including 42 Iowans. September 29, 2026 | Grassley reveals the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) assisted in Jack Smith’s classified documents case, calling into question Smith’s court filings. September 29, 2026 | Grassley reveals Jack Smith’s classified documents case was based on a “noncriminal referral,” undercutting Smith’s account of how the probe began. -30-