Jack Smith Violated Constitution To Spy On Republicans In Lawless ‘Arctic Frost’ Investigation, Committee Alleges

The House Judiciary Committee released findings Wednesday alleging that Special Counsel Jack Smith and his prosecutors violated the Constitution's Speech or Debate Clause while investigating the 2020 election in a probe codenamed "Arctic Frost." Investigators say the FBI and Justice Department obtained phone records from 17 Republican members of Congress, including 27 months of records belonging to House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican, and physically surveilled Pennsylvania Rep. Scott Perry for a week before seizing his cellphone. Gag orders kept the targeted lawmakers from learning for years that they had been monitored, according to Daily Caller.

Jordan wrote in a social media post that Smith knew members' communications were protected under the Speech or Debate Clause but ignored the Constitution anyway. Investigators allege prosecutors treated constitutional safeguards casually: Assistant Special Counsel Timothy Duree reportedly argued that toll records were not protected, then separately described nearly two years of Jordan's phone records as needed to map his "networks," or as a "mistake." Senior Assistant Special Counsel Molly Gaston reportedly disputed whether certifying a presidential election counted as an official legislative act.

Emails obtained by the committee show the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section had only limited discussions about the investigation's constitutionality, sometimes flagging concerns before approving subpoenas regardless, and noted the gag orders reduced litigation risk. The committee also alleges Smith's team bypassed required "filter teams" meant to protect constitutional rights, and that in June 2023 his office received 54 spreadsheets of text messages from the National Archives from inside Donald Trump's orbit.

Summarized by PolitiKool from Daily Caller’s reporting. Read the full story at Daily Caller →