Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., blasted the Department of Justice under former President Joe Biden on Wednesday saying it maintained "an enemies list" as part of its FBI investigation known as Arctic Frost.
Documents released Tuesday by the House Judiciary Committee show that FBI agents across the country participated in Operation Arctic Frost, an investigation into more than 160 Republican figures for alleged 2020 election-related crimes.
Johnson lamented the long-lasting effects of the investigation that still has harmed federal agencies, such as the FBI, years later.
"The agencies have been lost. A lot of personnel simply couldn't serve in the Trump administration. It's hard to hire people because of all the lawfare [under Biden]. And there's still partisan actors burrowed in trying to sabotage their efforts," Johnson said to reporters on Capitol Hill.
The Wisconsin senator was visibly agitated but praised the efforts of fellow Republican Chuck Grassley. "The reason they come forward to Chairman Grassley is because he's been such a champion of whistleblowers," Johnson said.
"What is revealed in those 1,700 pages of documents, in those 197 subpoenas, is nothing short of a Biden administration enemies list," he added.
The scope of former prosecutor Jack Smith's case regarding President Donald Trump's alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election appears to have been larger than previously understood. According to the committee, 198 new documents were made public.
Johnson said the use of the term "enemies list" is far worse than how it was used under former President Richard Nixon.
"Orders of magnitude worse. People need to understand how politicized the Biden administration turned all these agencies," Johnson said. "And again, the best way to describe President Biden's attitude, his exact quotes, how he thought basically half America were domestic terrorists in September 2022, in front of Independence Hall.
"He said Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an 'extremism that threatens the very foundation of our republic.'"
The newly released documents reinforce Republican claims that there was a concerted effort by the Biden administration to "take down President Trump and his supporters."
Johnson noted that law abiding and "God fearing" Americans that were on the Biden DOJ's list are honorable people that just wanted "to see America succeed."
"The fact that they are on a Biden administration enemies list ... is outrageous. It should shock every American," Johnson added.
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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