Jack Smith tracked private communications, calls of nearly a dozen GOP senators during J6 probe, FBI says

Jack Smith's federal Trump cases cost taxpayers more than $50 million

Fox News' Brooke Singman reports the latest on Trump's major legal wins in Jack Smith's federal cases. The 'Fox & Friends' co-hosts react and discuss the massive price tag that it cost taxpayers.  

EXCLUSIVE: Former Special Counsel Jack Smith was allegedly tracking the private communications and phone calls of nearly a dozen Republican Senators as part of his investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots, Fox News Digital has learned.

A document, reviewed by Fox News Digital, revealed that Smith and his "Arctic Frost" team investigating Jan. 6 were allegedly tracking the phone calls of GOP Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Tommy Tuberville of Alabama and GOP Rep. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania.

The document, recently discovered by FBI Director Kash Patel and exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital, is titled "CAST Assistance" and dated Sept. 27, 2023. "CAST" refers to the FBI’s cellular analysis survey team.

The document, which has the names of FBI agents involved redacted, marks the case ID as "ARCTIC FROST—Election Law Matters—SENSITIVE INVESTIGATIVE MATTER—CAST."

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A document, reviewed by Fox News Digital, revealed that Jack Smith and his "Arctic Frost" team investigating Jan. 6 were allegedly tracking the phone calls of GOP Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and others.  (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The document states the names of the lawmakers and that an FBI special agent on Smith’s team "conducted preliminary toll analysis" on the toll records associated with the lawmakers. 

An FBI official told Fox News Digital that Smith and his team tracking the senators were able to see which phone numbers they called, the location the phone call originated and the location where it was received.

A source said the calls were likely in reference to the vote to certify the 2020 election. 

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) speaks during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing September 30, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington.  (Stefani Reynolds-Pool/Getty Images)

An official said the records were collected in 2023 by Smith and his team after subpoenaing major telephone providers. 

"Arctic Frost" was opened inside the bureau April 13, 2022. Smith was appointed as special counsel to take over the probe in November 2022. 

Fox News Digital has learned that FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino is briefing those lawmakers on the discovery of Smith’s surveillance Monday afternoon on Capitol Hill.

A source said Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino and FBI Director Kash Patel felt it was important to brief the senators "as soon as possible" after the discovery of the record.  (@FBIDDBongino on X)

A source said Bongino and FBI Director Patel felt it was important to brief the senators "as soon as possible" after the discovery of the record.

"It is a disgrace that I have to stand on Capitol Hill and reveal this — that the FBI was once weaponized to track the private communications of U.S. lawmakers for political purposes," Bongino told Fox News Digital. "That era is over."

Bongino added: "Under our leadership, the FBI will never again be used as a political weapon against the American people."

Special Counsel Jack Smith delivers remarks on a recently unsealed indictment including four felony counts against former U.S. President Donald Trump at the Justice Department on August 1, 2023 in Washington, DC. Trump was indicted on four felony counts for his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election.    (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

FBI officials told Fox News Digital that the newly discovered records were pursuant to an oversight request by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.

Patel and Bongino personally directed additional review of the "Arctic Frost" case after Grassley’s request.

An FBI official told Fox News Digital that "Arctic Frost" is a "prohibited case," and that the review required FBI officials to go "above and beyond in order to deliver on this promise of transparency." The discovery is part of a broader ongoing review, Fox News Digital has learned.

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"The American people deserve the truth, and under my leadership, they will have it," Patel told Fox News Digital. "We promised accountability for those who weaponized law enforcement, and we will deliver it."

Patel added: "Under our watch, the FBI will never again be turned against the American people."

Smith, after months of investigating, charged President Donald Trump in the U.S. District Court for Washington, D.C., in his 2020 election case, but after Trump was elected president, Smith sought to dismiss the case. Judge Tanya Chutkan granted that request. 

Smith's case cost taxpayers more than $50 million. 

Fox News Digital was unable to reach Smith for comment. 

Brooke Singman is a political correspondent and reporter for Fox News Digital, Fox News Channel and FOX Business.