Former Attorney General Merrick Garland, former FBI Director Christopher Wray, and former Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco personally approved the FBI’s sweeping “Arctic Frost” investigation into President Trump and Republican lawmakers, newly released records show.
Senator Chuck Grassley on Thursday unveiled the documents, which include signatures from Garland, Wray, and Monaco authorizing the probe in April 2022. The memo, signed by all three, was directed to Garland for final review before the FBI launched what has since been described as one of the bureau’s most politically sensitive investigations in decades.
The Biden Justice Department approved Arctic Frost based largely on open-source reporting and claims that Trump allies sought to “overturn” the 2020 election. Internal DOJ memos acknowledged that public disclosure of the investigation before an election could “disrupt the democratic process.”
Arctic Frost ultimately evolved into Special Counsel Jack Smith’s D.C. prosecution of Trump, which collapsed after the Supreme Court ruled the president has immunity for official acts. Smith resigned following Trump’s 2024 victory, ending both the D.C. and classified-documents cases without trial.
Source: Senator Chuck Grassley on X
