Legal analyst Gregg Jarrett discusses a new memo exploring former special counsel Jack Smith’s alleged spying on MAGA supporters.

Arctic Frost was the internal code name for a joint federal investigation (involving the FBI, DOJ Office of Inspector General, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and National Archives OIG) opened in April 2022 into alleged efforts by Donald Trump and associates to overturn the results of the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Official purpose and originIt focused primarily on the “fake electors” (or alternate electors) scheme, in which Trump allies in several battleground states submitted alternate slates of electors claiming Trump had won those states. The FBI’s opening document described it as probing a “multifaceted conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2020 Presidential Election so that former president Trump could remain in office.” 

• It was opened by FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Timothy Thibault and formally approved by Attorney General Merrick Garland, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, and FBI Director Christopher Wray. 
• In November 2022, Garland appointed Special Counsel Jack Smith, who took over Arctic Frost (along with related probes). This formed the basis for Smith’s August 2023 indictment of Trump on election-related charges (which did not proceed after Trump’s 2024 election win).

The investigation was initially known publicly mainly as a probe into the false/alternate electors plot; the “Arctic Frost” codename and broader scope became widely discussed later through congressional oversight.Scope and controversiesRepublican oversight (especially by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley) has documented that the probe expanded well beyond the core electors issue. Documented actions include:

• Subpoenas and data collection targeting hundreds of Republican individuals, organizations, campaign staff, and fundraising efforts (Grassley has cited over 400 named Republican targets in some releases).
• Obtaining phone toll records (metadata) of multiple Republican members of Congress, including senators.
• Collection of extensive personal and donor data on at least 639,000 Republican donors, voters, and supporters (including names, addresses, emails, party registration, occupations, donation details, partial credit-card numbers, and information on buyers of red MAGA hats and Trump merchandise). Some of this data went back to 2005. 

Grassley and other Republicans have described Arctic Frost as a partisan fishing expedition or “worse than Watergate,” arguing it was used to map the broader Republican political apparatus and target political opponents under the pretext of investigating the 2020 election. Critics have also pointed to issues with the origins (including Thibault’s later Hatch Act violation for anti-Trump activity) and claims that certain protocols (such as filter teams for privileged material) were bypassed.Defenders of the probe, including Smith and Democrats, have characterized it as a legitimate criminal investigation into serious allegations of election interference and obstruction of Congress’s certification of the 2020 results. The core factual basis for opening it (the alternate electors effort) is not disputed; the controversy centers on its scope, methods, and political impact.In short, Arctic Frost was the Biden-era FBI/DOJ investigation into 2020 election challenges that Jack Smith inherited and expanded, producing both the Trump election case and extensive later congressional disclosures about data collection on Republicans.