The Biden administration’s FBI accessed the personal cell phone records of eight Republican senators during an investigation that later turned into legal actions against Donald Trump, according to newly released documents on Monday.
The document shared by Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, reveals that the FBI acquired the “tolling data” from the phones of eight GOP senators along with Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Penn., in connection with the 2023 “Arctic Frost” probe. This inquiry eventually evolved into Special Counsel Jack Smith’s electoral lawfare against Trump.
A press release from the Senate Judiciary Committee states that the FBI obtained data covering the senators’ phone activity from January 4 to January 7, 2021. The report clarifies that the data reveals call times, recipients, call duration, and approximate location, but excludes actual call content.
The senators whose data was collected include Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Bill Hagerty and Marsha Blackburn from Tennessee, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Dan Sullivan from Alaska, Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming.
Grassley declared in a statement that “Based on the evidence to-date, Arctic Frost and related weaponization by federal law enforcement under Biden was arguably worse than Watergate.” He called the FBI’s conduct “disturbing and outrageous political conduct” and demanded accountability from Attorney General Bondi and Director Patel for this “unconstitutional breach.”
A key detail from Grassley’s released document is that it originated from the FBI’s “Prohibited Access” files, as noted by the senator.
Margot Cleveland of The Federalist previously outlined that material marked “Prohibited Access” in the FBI’s Sentinel case management system is hidden from standard searches, meaning users wouldn’t be aware of the presence of relevant data.
This “Prohibited Access” classification also housed several documents related to the Trump/Russia-collusion hoax, according to Cleveland, which hindered Washington Field Office agents from pinpointing crucial evidence about Fusion GPS contractor Nellie Ohr’s testimony during the Crossfire Hurricane investigation. Additionally, the U.S. attorney reviewing evidence concerning alleged Biden family corruption in Ukraine was reportedly unaware of the FBI’s capacity to render certain records effectively invisible via “Prohibited Access” coding.
Cleveland concluded that it remains unclear whether such hidden files were also improperly withheld from Congress, the inspector general, or FOIA requesters, and emphasized the need for answers to fundamental questions.
Original article: thefederalist.com
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