Senator Lummis blasts Biden Administration/FBI for alleged surveillance of nine republicans in Jan. 6 Probe
News Team
WYOMING (KIFI) — Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) is speaking out after a newly released document revealed the FBI targeted the phone data of nine Republican members of Congress—including her—as part of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
The document, released Monday by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA), details how the FBI targeted the legislator’s personal cell phones for “tolling data” under the investigation codenamed “Arctic Frost.”
In a statement released yesterday, Senator Lummis denounced the action as a “blatant assault” on their constitutional rights.
“I’m absolutely appalled that the Biden administration used the FBI to spy on the private communications of Republican U.S. Senators – myself included,” said Lummis. “This was a blatant assault on our constitutional rights as elected officials and a calculated attempt to sabotage the separation of powers.
“Make no mistake: this authoritarian, unconstitutional surveillance and attack on the legislative branch under the Biden administration demands immediate investigation and prosecution. Those responsible must be held accountable, and we must ensure this abuse of power can never happen again.”
According to the released document, the FBI sought and obtained phone data for the targeted members of Congress spanning the period from January 4 through January 7, 2021.
Grassley’s investigation indicates that the data the FBI collected does not include the content of the calls, but reveals:
When and to whom a call was made.
The duration of the call.
General location data of the call.
The senators’ records were allegedly found in a Prohibited Access file within the FBI, a filing system whose existence was previously exposed by Senator Grassley’s oversight efforts.
The Arctic Frost investigation, which focused on efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, began in April 2022. Senator Grassley’s release claims the probe was initially opened by “former anti-Trump agent Timothy Thibault” before being taken over by Special Counsel Jack Smith in November 2022.
Grassley claims that whistleblowers disclosed that the FBI also acquired the government cell phones of President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence during the investigation, with “Officials in the Biden White House personally assisted the FBI” in securing those devices.
“Based on the evidence to date, Arctic Frost and related weaponization by federal law enforcement under Biden was arguably worse than Watergate,” stated Grassley in the release. “What I’ve uncovered today is disturbing and outrageous political conduct by the Biden FBI. The FBI’s actions were an unconstitutional breach, and Attorney General Bondi and Director Patel need to hold accountable those involved in this serious wrongdoing.”
The FBI targeted the following Members of Congress:Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.)Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.)Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.)Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska)Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.)Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.)Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.)Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.)Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.)
In September, House Speaker Mike Johnson appointed five Republicans to serve on the new GOP-led select subcommittee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.