Rep. Chuck Grassley – Wikimedia Commons
Former special counsel Jack Smith allegedly monitored the phone calls and personal messages of multiple Republican members of Congress during his probe of President Donald Trump’s efforts to contest the results of the 2020 presidential election, Fox News reported.
Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, Josh Hawley of Missouri and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee were among those whose phones were tapped by the FBI, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino told affected members of Congress after an oversight request by Republican Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, according to Fox News. The monitoring, conducted as part of the Arctic Frost probe, allegedly involved calls discussing plans to contest the certification of the electoral votes, Fox News reported.
“It is a disgrace that I have to stand on Capitol Hill and reveal this — that the FBI was once weaponized to track the private communications of U.S. lawmakers for political purposes,” Bongino said to Fox News Digital. “That era is over.”
Smith also reportedly probed multiple conservative organizations during his investigation, including the student group Turning Point USA. Smith’s investigation also targeted other individuals, including former Trump administration official Jeffrey Clark, according to whistleblowers who confided in Grassley.
Smith secured a superseding indictment against Trump in August 2024, almost two months after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Trump’s claims of immunity in a case stemming from a previous version of the indictment of the former president. United States District Judge Tanya Chutkan of the District of Columbia agreed to dismiss the case at Smith’s request on Nov. 25, 2024, after Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential election.
Then-Attorney General Merrick Garland released Smith’s report Jan. 14, in which Smith outlined findings from his probe into Trump’s efforts to contest the results of the 2020 presidential election. Garland appointed Smith in November 2022 to oversee allegations surrounding Trump’s challenge to the results of the 2020 election and retention of classified material by the then-former president.
Smith and the FBI did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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