Documents unveiled on Tuesday have shed light on a sweeping Biden-era investigation, known as "Arctic Frost," which targeted not only President Donald Trump but also a multitude of conservative groups, including Turning Point USA (TPUSA).
The probe, which later evolved into special counsel Jack Smith's election interference case against Trump, encompassed 92 other Republican targets, ranging from the Republican National Committee to individuals such as White House official Jeffrey Clark.
According to Conservative Daily News, the FBI's expansive investigation was the genesis of the controversial four-count indictment announced against Trump in August 2023. The revelation of the probe's extensive reach comes in the wake of the tragic assassination of Charlie Kirk, a prominent conservative figure, while he was delivering a speech at a Utah college campus.
FBI Director Kash Patel disclosed during a hearing that over 20 individuals who participated in a Discord chat with the suspect, Tyler Robinson, are currently under investigation.
Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley, in his opening statement for the Judiciary Committee's FBI oversight hearing, stated, "Arctic Frost wasnt just a case to politically investigate Trump. It was the vehicle by which partisan FBI agents and DOJ prosecutors could achieve their partisan ends and improperly investigate the entire Republican political apparatus."
The probe's records reveal that subpoenas were issued to conservative groups such as the Conservative Partnership Institute and America First Policy Institute for what Grassley termed "bogus investigations." Other organizations, including the Republican Attorneys General Association and Turning Point USA, were served subpoenas related to "J6 $," as indicated by a spreadsheet from the investigation.
The FBI's summary of the Arctic Frost investigation portrayed it as an inquiry into "the multifaceted conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2020 Presidential Election so that President Trump could remain in office." The summary further elaborated that the alleged conspiracy involved subjects from the private sector, numerous battleground states, the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the White House.
Trump was indicted in the election probe in August 2023, several months after his indictment in Smith's classified documents case. Smith, who was appointed by former Attorney General Merrick Garland in November 2022, repeatedly attempted to expedite the case, even rushing to the Supreme Court before allowing the lower court time to consider the presidential immunity appeal.
Smith's conduct during the prosecution of Trump led to the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) initiating an ethics investigation into him in August. Meanwhile, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced on social media that his office would be "launching an investigation and issuing subpoenas to former Biden officials who engaged in malicious, politically motivated witch hunts targeting conservative individuals and organizations, like @TPUSA."
Echoing Uthmeier's sentiment, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, who served as chair at the time, expressed his firsthand experience of the unfair targeting of their association. He emphasized that "the weaponization of the FBI against political opponents is an affront to our democracy and must be exposed."
In a related development, Grassley released audio of FBI agents delivering a subpoena to Trump advisor Peter Navarro. The Biden administration had previously cited this incident as a reason for Navarro's arrest rather than allowing him to self-surrender.
However, the audio appears to contradict the DOJs portrayal of Navarros behavior as combative.
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