FBI Director Kash Patel said agents involved in the controversial "Arctic Frost" investigation have been terminated, responding to a Truth Social post from President Donald Trump condemning the operation and the agents who conducted it.
Patel replied publicly to Trump on Monday evening, thanking the president and confirming the dismissals.
"Under your leadership, this FBI found the corrupt actors and terminated their employment last year," Patel wrote. "America voted for the end of weaponized law enforcement, and that's what we are delivering."
Trump was reacting to a report by Just the News, which revealed that an FBI supervisor who publicly criticized the president on social media played a significant role in initiating the Arctic Frost investigation.
The supervisor had advocated for making Trump an official target of the probe and supported the case by sharing articles from liberal activists and left-leaning news organizations, according to the outlet.
"These FBI Agents are total Scum … Kash better get them out, NOW!" Trump wrote, accusing the agents of being "Radical Left Lunatics" embedded under prior Democrat administrations.
Arctic Frost was a wide-ranging FBI investigation that examined more than 160 Republican figures for alleged crimes related to the 2020 election.
According to documents released by the House Judiciary Committee in October, FBI agents across the country participated in the probe, which was coordinated in part by FBI Special Agent Timothy Thibault. Thibault resigned in August 2022 after scrutiny over his political social media activity.
Committee Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said newly released records provided by Patel showed the investigation was significantly broader than previously known and appeared to extend deep into Trump's political network as he prepared for his 2024 presidential campaign.
Documents indicate that 45 individuals closely affiliated with Trump were identified for potential investigation, along with another 111 people within his wider political circle. Those flagged included Steve Bannon, Rudy Giuliani, Mark Meadows, John Eastman, Jeffrey Clark, and Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., among others.
The Judiciary Committee also linked Arctic Frost to the broader elector case pursued by former special counsel Jack Smith, noting the release of 198 new documents detailing the scope of federal law enforcement activity.
Separately, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, disclosed last year that Turning Point USA, founded by the late conservative leader Charlie Kirk, was among the Republican-linked groups targeted by Arctic Frost and said the investigation had been approved by then-Attorney General Merrick Garland and former FBI Director Christopher Wray.
Patel has characterized the firings as part of a broader effort to dismantle what he and other Republicans describe as the politicization of federal law enforcement.
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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