Sen. Grassley: Biden FBI Spied on GOP Sens

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, claimed Monday that the Biden administration's FBI targeted eight Republican senators as part of an election-related investigation, calling it "worse than Watergate."

In a post on X, Grassley shared what he described as a bureau document showing FBI agents conducted toll record analysis — a form of communications metadata review — on several GOP lawmakers, including Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee.

"The FBI under Joe Biden's watch exercised authority that it did not have," said Blackburn.

"The Biden administration raided Mar-a-Lago, indicted President Trump, and now we know they weaponized America's top law enforcement agency to spy on Republican U.S. senators who support President Trump. The FBI was rotten to the core under Joe Biden and Chris Wray's leadership, and I will not let this stand. I appreciate Director [Kash] Patel and Deputy Director Bongino for launching an investigation to hold those responsible for this corruption accountable to the highest extent."

The analysis was part of "Arctic Frost," an investigation into alleged election conspiracy activity that Grassley says later evolved into special counsel Jack Smith's elector case against President Donald Trump.

"This document shows the Biden FBI spied on eight of my Republican Senate colleagues," Grassley wrote, accusing the bureau of politicizing its investigative powers. "Biden FBI weaponization = worse than Watergate."

The revelation is likely to intensify Republican criticism of federal law enforcement and fuel calls for congressional investigations into the scope and legality of surveillance targeting sitting lawmakers. The FBI has not publicly commented on the alleged probe.

The FBI in 2023 analyzed phone records of more than a half dozen Republican lawmakers as part of an investigation into what investigators described as efforts to challenge the results of the 2020 election, according to information released Monday by GOP senators.

The records enabled investigators to see basic information about the date and time of the calls but not the content of the communications, the senators said.

The disclosure adds new detail to the since-shuttered investigation by the FBI and former special counsel Smith into the steps Trump and allies took in the run-up to the Capitol riot after his election loss to Democrat nominee Joe Biden. Trump was indicted in August 2023 with conspiring to overturn the results, but the case was abandoned by Trump's win the following year because of a Justice Department legal opinion that says sitting presidents cannot face federal prosecution.

The subpoena for the phone records was disclosed by several Republican senators, including Grassley, who chairs the Judiciary Committee that oversees the FBI. Grassley said the document memorializing the "preliminary toll analysis" was found in response to his request. The investigative step was approved by a grand jury, the senators said.

Grassley called it a "violation of personal property and people's rights and the law and their constitutional rights."

That document was dated Sept. 27, 2023, and lists the following Republican lawmakers as people whose records were apparently scrutinized: Graham; Sen. Bill Hagerty of Tennessee; Hawley; Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska; Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama; Johnson; Sen. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming; Blackburn; and Rep. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania.

The document suggests the analysis was conducted by an FBI special agent whose name was redacted and that it was authorized by two supervisory agents. It does not say how or why those lawmakers were identified or whether any meaningful tips or leads emerged from that investigative work.

Several of the lawmakers were among Republicans who planned to challenge the results the results of the 2020 presidential election. After the voting was disrupted by the protesters who breached the Capitol, some voted to certify the results, while others still voted against certification.

The senators said they would not be conducting their own investigation because they expected FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino to review the matter. Grassley suggested that more people at the FBI would be fired over the investigation, saying, "If heads don't roll in this town, nothing changes."