Arctic Frost was a lesson in betrayal

By U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley
R-Iowa

More than 1,000 Iowans – and many more Americans – had their personal information swept up by former Special Counsel Jack Smith and the Biden Department of Justice (DOJ). How did this happen in America?

In the months leading up to April 2022, partisan agents within the Biden administration’s Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) broke protocol to open a criminal investigation designed to target President Donald Trump, which they codenamed “Arctic Frost.” 

In November 2022, three days after President Trump announced his reelection campaign, the Biden administration appointed Smith to advance the Arctic Frost investigation, which significantly expanded in scope to include other Republican individuals and entities.

Brave whistleblowers came to my office to share concerns about political partisanship infecting the DOJ and FBI during the Arctic Frost investigation and after Smith took over, and they’ve continued to speak out ever since. 

Over the last four years, I’ve released legally protected whistleblower disclosures and federal records that have exposed the weaponization within the Biden administration, as well as Jack Smith’s work to prosecute Trump and map out the entire apparatus of the Republican political party.

We now know that Iowans who donated as little as $5 to President Trump and supporters who purchased red Make America Great Again hats had their names, addresses, occupations, places of work and banking information scooped up by Smith, his fellow prosecutors and FBI agents. So far, my oversight has identified more than 600,000 Americans who had their highly sensitive personal information collected by federal agents.

Many Iowans choose to exercise their political freedoms by offering a small dollar donation or purchasing merchandise from their preferred candidate. Simple acts of civic engagement should never result in permanent risk to an Iowan’s privacy. But under the Biden DOJ, that’s exactly what happened.

Additionally, once the DOJ and FBI obtain information, the agencies will likely retain it forever. Because of the Biden administration and Smith’s conduct, it’s reasonable for Americans to wonder how their sensitive information might be used under a Democrat administration.

What Smith and the Biden DOJ did in Arctic Frost runs counter to the very motto of our state: “Our liberties we prize, and our rights we will maintain.” Iowans and all Americans can learn from the previous administration’s betrayal and not let history repeat itself.

Americans deserve a government that works for them, not against them.