Newly released records made public Tuesday by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and Sen. Ron Johnson allege Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team reviewed more than 27,000 White House text messages, including communications involving 44 members of Congress, during the FBI’s “Arctic Frost” investigation into the 2020 election.
According to the documents, which the senators said were provided by DOJ whistleblowers, Smith’s office obtained 54 spreadsheets of text messages from the National Archives in June 2023. The records included communications involving President Trump and senior White House officials, including Dan Scavino, Stephen Miller, and Mark Meadows, as well as members of Congress.
The accompanying memo alleges DOJ investigators began reviewing the messages before filter teams completed their review for potentially privileged material, despite internal protocols requiring those safeguards. The senators argue the process raised constitutional concerns involving the Speech or Debate Clause and the separation of powers. The Justice Department has previously maintained investigators did not review protected communications until filter procedures were complete.
Grassley said he plans to question the former special counsel before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Smith has previously denied that his office spied on lawmakers.
The records state the collected text messages span October 2020 through Jan. 20, 2021.
Read the Documents: https://www.grassley.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/doj_to_grassley_-_arctic_frost_filter_team.pdf
