Jack Smith sought 197 subpoenas in Arctic Frost probe, new records show
Grassley received the whistleblower’s records and publicly argued that they showed the investigation was partisan.

SOURCE CHECK
TAP FOR WHYThe Washington Examiner is an established national outlet with identifiable authorship and a recognizable editorial operation, though its right-leaning orientation and the absence of a response from the principal subjects limit confidence in this article’s presentation.
- Source type — Established national news outlet; a reasonable credibility baseline, with a known conservative orientation.
- Author attribution — The article names a staff author.
- Editorial standards — A recognizable newsroom, but this article relies heavily on one side’s characterization of the records.
- Transparency — Identifies the whistleblower-provided records and quotes named lawmakers, but provides limited detail about the documents themselves.
The article reports specific subpoena counts and attributes the records to a whistleblower, but most interpretation comes from Republican critics. It does not include a response from Smith or the Justice Department or independently assess the requests’ justifications.
HOW WE SCORE ↗The article supplies subpoena figures and some investigative context, but its characterization is dominated by Republican lawmakers’ accusations and it includes no response from Smith or the Justice Department.
- Source diversity — The quoted political sources are Republican critics; no response from investigators or opposing political voices appears.
- Counterarguments presented — The article gives background on the investigation but does not present the investigators’ rationale or response to the allegations.
- Loaded language — Charged descriptions appear, generally attributed to Republican lawmakers, while the framing repeatedly emphasizes the alleged political targeting.
The story’s framing foregrounds Republican allegations of politically motivated surveillance and gives substantial space to their criticism without a response from Smith or the Justice Department.
- Framing — The opening and subsequent framing emphasize a politically intrusive investigation and alleged targeting of Republicans.
- Source selection — Named critics are Republicans; no opposing account or response from the investigators is included.
- Language tone — The article repeatedly foregrounds charged descriptions, mostly attributed to Republican lawmakers.
Newly disclosed records show that Jack Smith’s Arctic Frost investigation sought 197 subpoenas affecting hundreds of Republican individuals and entities. Republican lawmakers, including Chuck Grassley and Ted Cruz, called the requests politically abusive; the article presents no response from Smith or the Justice Department.
Records provided by a whistleblower to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley show that investigators sent 197 subpoenas to 34 individuals and 163 businesses, seeking information connected to at least 430 Republican individuals and entities. The requests included communications, records, and information about donor analytics and political strategy. Republican critics described the investigation as a partisan effort to surveil political opponents.
Cruz said investigators sought his phone records and that a court order barred AT&T from notifying him. He called for impeachment proceedings against the judge who issued the order. Grassley said the records showed a partisan “fishing expedition” and said he was making them public so Americans could draw their own conclusions.
The article says Arctic Frost began inside the FBI in early 2022, expanded after Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Smith special counsel, and ultimately formed the basis of an indictment against Donald Trump over his challenge to the 2020 election. It also reports that most people scrutinized were never accused of wrongdoing.
Community verdict
32 VOTESCounts every outlet’s report of this story. See all 7
- Readers of left-leaning coverage: not enough votes yet
- Readers of right-leaning coverage: 58% good look
Votes cast on this page
Votes cast on this page: ▲ 0 · ◆ 0 · ▼ 0
People in this story
SWIPE →Senate Judiciary Committee chairman who received and released the records
Texas senator whose phone records were sought and who criticized the nondisclosure order
Cruz's version of this story ↗South Carolina senator whom Cruz said may also have been targeted by secrecy orders
Former attorney general who elevated the inquiry and appointed Smith special counsel
Former president referenced in Republican accusations about the Justice Department
Former FBI director under whom the inquiry began
Wisconsin senator who joined Grassley at a press conference
Part of a bigger story
6 OUTLETSOutlets agree Grassley released subpoena records from Jack Smith’s Arctic Frost investigation. Grassley said the records showed requests for information about Republicans. Center outlets focus on the scale of the requests and Republicans’ claims of political abuse, with one article briefly including a response from the other side. Right-leaning outlets likewise present the records as evidence of broad targeting, but use more charged language and highlight specific subpoenas.
- ARTICLES
- 7
- OUTLETS
- 6
- AVG CRED
- 54
- New York Post · Jack Smith obtained call logs of 10 GOP lawmakers — including Lindsey Graham, Josh Hawley — in 2020 election probe
- Newsbusters · Jack Smith 'Arctic Frost' Subpoena Targeted Firm that Didn't Even Exist on J6
- Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion | · Grassley: Jack Smith Targeted Over 400 Republicans During Arctic Frost
Discussion · 0
Loading comments…







