Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R) dropped a bombshell document this week, showing that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) analyzed Republican lawmakers’ phone records during their January 6th probe.
As part of the FBI’s “Arctic Frost” investigation, the FBI was “tolling data” of Republican lawmakers.
The investigation would later develop into Special Counsel Jack Smith’s case against President Donald Trump (R), which also targeted nearly 100 Republican groups and cost over $50 million.
The document indicates that an FBI special agent, whose name is redacted, analyzed the records of lawmakers like South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham (R), Missouri Senator Josh Hawley (R), and Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn (R) among others.
The news comes as United Kingdom announces its plan to implement a mandatory digital ID system, which is described as “the authoritative proof of who someone is and their residency status in this country” according to the UK Government.
Critics, however, warn of privacy concerns, which Senator Grassley highlighted while speaking to reporters.
“If heads don’t roll in this town, nothing changes,” he warned.
Privacy concerns have been a growing topic of discussion in American politics, as critics warn that government surveillance should be reined back to not encroach on the privacy of Americans.
In October 2001, the landmark USA PATRIOT Act was passed as a response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which significantly expanded government’s role in surveillance, phone and internet monitoring, and access to the personal and financial records of Americans.
During the Obama Administration, Edward Snowden, a former National Security Agency (NSA) intelligence contractor turned whistleblower, leaked documents related to mass intelligence-gathering surveillance programs run by the NSA and the Government Communications Headquarters, the U.K.’s intelligence organization.
Snowden was ultimately charged with espionage.
FBI Director Kash Patel reiterated this week that the “abuse of power ends” under his guidance, but his leadership has faced intense scrutiny from both sides of the aisle after his handling of the Charlie Kirk assassination.
