Q: What is Arctic Frost?
A: Under the Biden administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) opened an investigation in April 2022 codenamed Arctic Frost. I started my congressional oversight of Arctic Frost in July 2022 after whistleblowers approached my office. 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. 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.
As part of its Arctic Frost investigation, the Biden DOJ, FBI and supporting agencies issued hundreds of subpoenas and conducted dozens of interviews across the country at taxpayer expense. 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. Thanks to the courageous disclosures by whistleblowers, the truth is seeing the light of day. I’ll continue working to root out abuses of power to restore public trust in government.
Q: How is this targeting of political opponents during the Biden administration worse than Watergate?
A: 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. 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. As a lifelong family farmer, I know it takes the light and heat of the sun to grow crops. Likewise, I’ve learned in Washington it takes the heat of congressional oversight, often aided by the courage of whistleblowers, to shine light on wrongdoing and hold government accountable to the public. 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. As part of that effort, I’ve sent letters to the DOJ and FBI, as well as various other federal entities and telecommunications companies, seeking all records related to Arctic Frost and all records they provided to former Special Counsel Jack Smith for his investigation into President Trump and others. In the infamous Watergate tapes, President Nixon delivered the marching orders to fire a Pentagon whistleblower for telling the truth. As a freshman member of the U.S. House of Representatives elected post-Watergate, I cut my teeth on holding government accountable. History shows transparency brings accountability. As a watchdog for good government, I’ll keep digging to root out wrongdoing to ensure the government works for the American people, not the other way around.