FBI Director Kash Patel said employees involved in the effort have been terminated.
The FBI surveilled Republican senators as part of its Arctic Frost investigation, a newly disclosed document shows.
FBI agents carried out surveillance on the cell phones of Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), and Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), according to the document, which was made public by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on Oct. 6. They obtained information known as toll records.
Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) was also surveilled.
It was previously known that Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) and lawyers representing President Donald Trump had their phones seized as part of the investigation.
Arctic Frost started in 2022 under then-President Joe Biden. It was launched into the alleged conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
The investigation was later taken over by special counsel Jack Smith, who ended up charging Trump. Smith wrote in his final report that toll records showed Trump tried reaching out to two U.S. senators and also directed a co-conspirator to call members of Congress to convince them to delay certifying the election results.
The charges were dropped after Trump won the 2024 race.
“Based on the evidence to-date, Arctic Frost and related weaponization by federal law enforcement under Biden was arguably worse than Watergate,” Grassley said in a statement.
He described the FBI’s actions in the investigation as “an unconstitutional breach” and called on FBI Director Kash Patel to hold accountable the personnel involved.
Johnson wrote on X: “We were surveilled simply for being Republicans. This does not surprise me, but it should shock every American. What the Biden Administration has done is an outrageous abuse of power—it is blatant political persecution. Those responsible must be held fully accountable.”
An automated message from the FBI’s press office indicated a response would not be coming due to the government shutdown.
“During the current lapse in appropriations, FBI operations are directed toward national security, violations of federal law, and essential public safety functions. Media inquiries outside of these functions will be considered when the lapse in appropriations ends,” the message stated.
