New documents show the FBI sought private phone records belonging to sitting Republican leaders as part of a wide probe that swept up lawmakers and conservative groups.
Newly revealed documents allege that former special counsel Jack Smith requested private cellphone toll records for then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Representative Louie Gohmert during the Jan. 6 investigation. The disclosures add to evidence that the inquiry expanded into a sprawling surveillance effort that sampled a large chunk of Republican political activity.
The records show Smith pursued private phone metadata on January 24, 2023, months after Operation Arctic Frost began under the prior leadership at the Justice Department and FBI. Those moves came as the investigation’s scope broadened from a narrow focus on potential election crimes to a far-reaching sweep of Republican officials and conservative organizations.
Former special counsel Jack Smith allegedly sought the private, personal cellphone records of then-Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy as part of his investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots, Fox News Digital has learned.
Smith also sought the private phone records of now-former Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas.
Fox News Digital exclusively reviewed the document that FBI Director Kash Patel recently shared with Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and Sen. Ron Johnson containing the explosive revelations. Grassley and Johnson have been leading a joint investigation into Smith’s “Arctic Frost” probe.
According to the document, Smith, on Jan. 24, 2023, allegedly sought the “toll records for the personal cell phones of U.S. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (AT&T) and U.S. Representative Louie Gohmert (Verizon.)”
The information was included as part of a “Significant Case Notification” drafted by the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division on May 25, 2023.
“Jack Smith’s radical and deranged investigation was never about finding the truth,” former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy told Fox News Digital. “It was a blatant weaponizing of the Justice Department to attack political opponents of the Biden administration. Perhaps no action underscores this point more than the illegal attempt to access the phone records of sitting members of the House and Senate — including the Speaker of the House.”
“His illegal targeting demands real accountability,” McCarthy continued. “And I am confident Congress will hold hearings and access documents in its investigation into Jack Smith’s own abuses.”
“At the same time, I will ask my own counsel to pursue all areas of redress so this does not happen to anyone else,” McCarthy said.
The broader investigation, known internally as Operation Arctic Frost, began in April 2022 with approval from then-Attorney General Merrick Garland and then-FBI Director Christopher Wray. It started with questions about former President Donald Trump and the 2020 election but quickly ballooned into a sweeping campaign that touched hundreds of Republicans.
Senate disclosures show the FBI issued nearly 200 subpoenas in the operation, seeking records and communications from 439 Republican individuals and organizations. That level of outreach amounts to a systematic collection of information across an entire political movement rather than a narrowly targeted criminal probe.
Documents indicate phone metadata was gathered for nine Republican lawmakers, naming Senators such as Lindsey Graham, Marsha Blackburn, Ron Johnson, and Josh Hawley among those monitored. The Bureau also collected records tied to conservative groups, including Turning Point USA, the Republican National Committee, and the Conservative Partnership Institute.
These revelations raise serious civil liberties and separation-of-powers questions. When federal law enforcement starts pulling personal phone records of elected lawmakers and key political organizations, it risks chilling political speech and creating the appearance of partisan policing.
Congressional Republicans have pushed for answers and accountability, treating the disclosures as proof the Justice Department was weaponized against political opponents. The matter now sits with oversight investigators who are piecing together how authorizations were signed and what legal predicates were used.
After the new administration took office earlier this year, FBI Director Kash Patel moved to remove some agents connected to the operation. Those personnel changes underscore how politically explosive the program became once it was exposed.
The core facts here are straightforward: phone records were sought for senior Republican officials, numerous subpoenas targeted hundreds of people and organizations, and oversight leaders are demanding documents and testimony. Those developments will shape the next phase of the fight over intelligence, law enforcement, and politics in Washington.
