An Arctic Frost update revealed “another grotesque example” of weaponized government as senators revealed filters were “apparently bypassed” to access lawmakers’ private information.
Under President Joe Biden, then-Special Counsel Jack Smith was responsible for investigations of then-former President Donald Trump related to documents stored at Mar-a-Lago and the events of Jan. 6, 2021. Investigation of the investigators has since prompted allegations of illegal actions in this “modern Watergate,” including the latest report that Smith’s team “secretly obtained” text messages of 44 members of Congress — and he lied about it under oath.
“Jack Smith’s criminal investigation of President Trump was a runaway train that had no brakes,” said Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley (R), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, in a joint release with Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson (R) after oversight found evidence that Smith’s investigators may have infringed on “constitutional guardrails.”
“Jack Smith’s team ignored investigative protocols and accessed White House texts including messages to and from 44 Members of Congress. Yet another blatant example of Biden’s DOJ weaponization. No one should be shocked — just outraged,” said Johnson on X while sharing a post from Grassley that read, “I received records [from] DOJ confirming Jack Smith’s investigative team reviewed the contents of text [messages] sent by 44 MEMBERS of CONGRESS,” wrote the senator, adding, “[I’m] 1 of the 44 … [I’m] alerting my colleagues who were impacted and will release the records [with] Sen Johnson so American [people] can see the evidence.”
Jack Smith’s team ignored investigative protocols and accessed White House texts including messages to and from 44 Members of Congress. Yet another blatant example of Biden’s DOJ weaponization. No one should be shocked — just outraged. https://t.co/hkE25DEgaC
— Senator Ron Johnson (@SenRonJohnson) July 14, 2026
According to a letter from Assistant Attorney General Patrick Davis, “On Sunday, June 11, 2023, a different employee at the Justice Department sent an email to the contractor managing the Filter Team’s document review software to alert them to an issue. Apparently, the software’s permission settings had been set inappropriately, allowing Investigative Team members the ability to access documents the Filter Team had not yet sorted or designated for review. The email asked the contractor to adjust the settings to prevent any such access, stating that ‘[t]his is the top priority item right now from our end.'”
Davis went on to state Smith’s team “apparently bypassed” the filtering team and “directly accessed these text messages” when, in response to a subpoena, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) provided all the text messages from the list of requested phones sent between Oct. 2020 and Jan. 20, 2021.
“NARA provided the texts to SCO on August 21, 2023,” read the release. “Within half an hour, one of Smith’s senior lawyers, Thomas Windom, downloaded the texts and, within one hour, other members of Smith’s investigative team downloaded and began reviewing the texts. It appears the review was done without waiting for the Filter Team to evaluate and segregate privileged information.”
“This is yet another grotesque example of the Biden administration’s weaponization of the Justice Department,” said Johnson.
The latest in the Arctic Frost investigation comes as a previous records release from Grassley alleged Smith was “illegally” working with leftist U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Judges James Boasberg and Beryl Howell, in what Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R) described as a “modern Watergate — trading a break-in at one office for a digital sweep into approximately 100,000 private communications…”
Among the lawmakers whose records were subpoenaed, Utah Sen. Mike Lee (R) shared testimony of Smith from December 2025 denying that the records he requested contained the content of phone calls and text messages with the caption, “This is Jack Smith… He spied on me and several other senators… Then he lied about it… Not cool.”
This is Jack Smith
He spied on me and several other senators
Then he lied about it
Not cool pic.twitter.com/BvhB5zvTNU
— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) July 15, 2026
Reminding that concern was not a political matter, Grassley noted in his statement, “I hope my Democrat colleagues, several of whom had their own texts swept up, finally put partisanship aside and recognize the severity of these actions. Smith’s team ran roughshod over the Constitution even after repeated warnings. Jack Smith has answering to do, and I intend to have him before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the coming months to hold him accountable.”
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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