Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said the new disclosures reveal ‘nothing short of a Biden administration enemies list.’
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) revealed that Special Counsel Jack Smith had subpoenaed the records of over 400 Republican targets as part of the “Arctic Frost” probe that led to the criminal prosecution of then-citizen Donald Trump.
Arctic Frost was the codename for a probe investigating allegations that Trump and his allies sought to overturn the 2020 election results by using alternate electors.
During a press conference on Oct. 29, Grassley, joined by several other Republican senators, announced that Smith’s probe had issued 197 subpoenas for testimony, communications, and records related to at least 430 named Republican individuals and entities.
Some of the more prominent targets included the Republican Attorneys General Association and conservative commentator Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA.
“Arctic Frost was the vehicle by which partisan FBI agents and DOJ prosecutors could improperly investigate the entire Republican political apparatus. Contrary to what [Jack] Smith has said publicly, this was clearly a fishing expedition,” Grassley said.
“If this happened to the Democrats, they’d be as rightly outraged as we are. We’re making these records public in the interest of transparency and so that the American people can draw their own conclusions.”
The subpoenaed records issued to banks, businesses, and individuals included requests for communications with media companies, communications with any “member, employee, or agent of the Legislative Branch,” communications with White House advisors, and other information.
One hundred sixty-three of the subpoenas were issued to business entities, while the other 34 were issued to individuals.
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said the new disclosures reveal “nothing short of a Biden administration enemies list.”
‘Sensitive Investigative Matter’
The disclosures follow a series of related revelations made by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Earlier this month, Grassley revealed documents showing that then-Attorney General Merrick Garland had personally authorized opening the Arctic Frost investigation upon the request of then-FBI Director Christopher Wray.
The nature of the investigation caused it to be marked as a “Sensitive Investigative Matter,” requiring Garland’s sign-off to begin the investigation.
“Following the 2020 Presidential and Vice Presidential election, in an apparent effort to obstruct Congress’s certification of the Electoral College, fraudulent certificates of electors’ votes were submitted to the Archivist of the United States, purporting to represent the actual elector votes from the states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, and Wisconsin,” an executive summary of the scope of the requested investigation said.
The final page of the document shows that Garland approved the investigation on April 5, signing off on the request with an initial.
A handwritten note at the bottom of the document acknowledges receipt of the approval by Wray.
By Joseph Lord
