The Biden administration’s FBI targeted hundreds of Republican figures and organizations, according to 197 subpoenas made public by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
At an Oct. 29 press conference announcing the release, Grassley said former special counsel Jack Smith issued the subpoenas during the “Arctic Frost” investigation, which later formed the basis of his case against President Donald Trump. As FOX News reported, Smith charged Trump in 2023 with attempting to overturn the 2020 election, but the case was dropped after Trump’s 2024 victory.
Grassley called Arctic Frost “the vehicle by which partisan FBI agents and DOJ prosecutors could improperly investigate the entire Republican political apparatus.”
“Contrary to what Smith has said publicly,” he added, “this was clearly a fishing expedition.”
Standing alongside Grassley, Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., called the subpoenas “nothing short of a Biden administration enemies list.”
The subpoenas — provided to Grassley by whistleblowers — were sent to 34 individuals and 163 businesses, the Senate Judiciary Committee said in a statement. The subpoenas requested testimony, communications, and records connected to at least 430 Republican figures and entities.
Smith’s team, according to the files, sought copies of communications made with “any” members and aides in Congress and numerous media companies, including CBS, FOX News, FOX Business, Newsmax, and Sinclair. Notable figures named in the subpoenaed communications include White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino and Senior Trade Counselor Peter Navarro.
At the press conference, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said he was among eight Republican senators whose phone records were sought. He said his carrier, AT&T, resisted complying and was ordered by a federal judge not to inform him of the request for a year.
Chris Wray's FBI wiretapped nearly 20% (TWENTY FREAKING PERCENT) of Senate Republicans' cell phones !!! https://t.co/xrLNFv37ch
— Mike Benz (@MikeBenzCyber) October 29, 2025
“We are going to get the answers of every person who signed off on this abuse of power, and mark my words, there will be accountability,” Cruz said.
Grassley has been gradually releasing documents related to Arctic Frost since January. Earlier this month, he accused the FBI of spying on nine Republican lawmakers under the same investigation, and, in September, he released records indicating the bureau also monitored 92 Republican-linked individuals and organizations — including the late Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA.