Senator Chuck Grassley has released a 2022 Justice Department memorandum showing that then-Attorney General Merrick Garland, Deputy AG Lisa Monaco, and FBI Director Christopher Wray personally authorised an FBI investigation — code-named “Arctic Frost” — into whether Trump campaign associates conspired to obstruct Congress’ certification of the 2020 election.
Grassley said the memo proves top officials “unleashed unchecked government power,” highlighting that the FBI sought to investigate “fraudulent certificates of electors” submitted from several battleground states.
The authorisation, signed in April 2022, came more than a year after the January 6 Capitol riot and months before Special Counsel Jack Smith took over related inquiries.
The probe later expanded under Smith, who subpoenaed phone records from several Republican senators and representatives, including Marsha Blackburn, Josh Hawley, and Lindsey Graham, to analyse communications around January 6.
Critics compared the operation to Watergate, alleging political targeting, while Smith’s team defended the subpoenas as lawful and routine. Grassley vowed continued oversight, calling the memo evidence of political weaponization within the Justice Department.
Lindsey Graham – Now there’s a viper in the grass