By James Bickerton and Shane Croucher
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President Donald Trump lashed out at former special counsel Jack Smith, calling him a "real sleazebag," after the Republican-led Senate Judiciary Committee published documents indicating the FBI targeted the cell phones of eight GOP Senators under its "Arctic Frost" investigation into alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
"Deranged Jack Smith got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. A real sleazebag!!!" Trump, who faced criminal charges as a result of the investigation, which were later dropped, posted to his Truth Social platform on Tuesday morning.
Newsweek contacted Smith for comment via email to legal firm Covington & Burling, which has completed a significant amount of pro bono legal work for him, and the Department of Justice's press office outside of regular office hours on Tuesday.
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Why It Matters
Trump faced a series of criminal cases in 2023 and 2024 which he decried as a politically motivated “witch hunt” against him.
The investigations leading to two of these cases, regarding allegations Trump broke the law attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election and mishandling classified documents, were overseen by Smith as special counsel though both have since been dropped following Trump's election victory in 2024.
What Was Operation ‘Arctic Frost’?
Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley, the Republican from Iowa, shared a one-page unclassified document on Monday that he said shows that the cellphone “tolling data” of Republican lawmakers under the FBI’s ‘Arctic Frost’ investigation into whether Trump and his allies broke the law during their attempt to overturn the 2020 election result.
The document said, "FBI Special Agent [REDACTED] conducted preliminary toll analysis on limited tolls records associated with the following US Senators," naming: Republican U.S. House Representatives from Pennsylvania Mike Kelly, and Senators Lindsey Graham, Bill Hagerty, Josh Hawley, Dan Sullivan, Tommy Tuberville, Ron Johnson, Cynthia Lummis, and Marsha Blackburn.
Toll analysis refers to examining phone toll records—metadata like call dates, times, durations, and numbers involved, but not conversation content.
"The document said data showed when and who the Senators called, the call length and their location when calls were made during this period," Grassley said in a news release.
Information generated by the Arctic Frost investigation formed the basis of Smith’s inquiry into 2020 election interference, which led to criminal charged against Trump in August 2023. However following Trump’s victory in the 2024 presidential election these were dropped.
In a statement Grassley described Arctic Frost “and related weaponization by federal law enforcement under Biden” as “arguably worse than Watergate."
Was Jack Smith Pardoned By Joe Biden?
Before leaving office President Biden issued preemptive pardons to a number of Trump’s political opponents as well as members of his own family.
Noticeably absent were pardons for judges and prosecutors involved in the various cases against Trump. According to Politico, this may have been because Biden’s team believed they had immunity as they were acting in an official capacity.
What People Are Saying
Responding to the document’s publication, FBI Director Kash Patel said: “We recently uncovered proof that phone records of U.S. lawmakers were seized for political purposes. That abuse of power ends now. Under my leadership, the FBI will deliver truth and accountability, and never again be weaponized against the American people.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, the Republican from South Dakota, said in a post on X: “I have grave concerns about a new report showing that the Biden-era FBI spied on Republican senators – and I fully support Senate committees getting to the bottom of this outrageous abuse of power and weaponization of the government.”
Speaking on CNN, former federal prosecutor Jeffrey Toobin said: “It's not even news. Jack Smith cites these conversations in his report. So this is not like he was trying to keep this a secret. And remember what Smith was investigating. He was investigating Donald Trump's attempts to overturn the election through the use of fake electors in congress.”
What Happens Next
It remains to be seen whether criminal charges will be brought against Smith, as they were against former FBI Director James Comey. Any such move would likely heighten criticism the Trump administration is using the criminal justice system to go after his enemies.
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