Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) accused the Biden FBI of spying on nearly a dozen GOP senators.

“This document shows the Biden FBI spied on 8 of my Republican Senate colleagues during its Arctic Frost investigation into ‘election conspiracy’ Arctic Frost later became Jack Smith’s elector case against Trump,” Grassley said.

“BIDEN FBI WEAPONIZATION = WORSE THAN WATERGATE,” he added.

“What I’ve uncovered today is disturbing and outrageous political conduct by the Biden FBI. The FBI’s actions were an unconstitutional breach, and Attorney General [Pam] Bondi and [FBI] Director [Kash] Patel need to hold accountable those involved in this serious wrongdoing,” Grassley said in a statement, according to the New York Post.

A closer look:

More from the New York Post:

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Arctic Frost began in April 2022 and was taken over by former special counsel Jack Smith later that year. It examined efforts by President Trump and his allies to challenge the 2020 election results, including by furnishing an alternative slate of electors.

On Monday, Grassley publicly released a Sept. 27, 2023, document titled “CAST Assistance,” which refers to the bureau’s cellular analysis team. That document claimed that the bureau had conducted “preliminary toll analysis on limited toll records.”

Lawmakers targeted were Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), as well as Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.)

The lightly redacted document’s case ID is labeled, “ARCTIC FROST — Election Law Matters — SENSITIVE INVESTIGATIVE MATTER — CAST.”

Johnson told reporters that Patel’s team unearthed the document after an employee attempted to get recertified for the bureau’s CAST system. Senators were adamant that they had no idea why they were targeted by the bureau.

“The only thing we all had in common was we were all Republicans,” Hagerty said, blasting the Biden administration over the ordeal.

Lawmakers currently believe that the FBI wasn’t necessarily tapping their phones, but rather had collected records of whom they called and at what time.

“This is an abomination. I was just briefed by @FBIDDBongino about this appalling weaponization of the FBI under Jack Smith. I will not let it stand,” Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) said.

“I was just briefed by @FBIDDBongino that the @FBI and @TheJusticeDept obtained call logs from eight U.S. Senators — including myself. We were surveilled simply for being Republicans,” Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) said.

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“This does not surprise me, but it should shock every American. What the Biden Administration has done is an outrageous abuse of power — it is blatant political persecution. Those responsible must be held fully accountable,” he added.

“I have grave concerns about a new report showing that the Biden-era FBI spied on Republican senators – and I fully support Senate committees getting to the bottom of this outrageous abuse of power and weaponization of the government,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) commented.

“We recently uncovered proof that phone records of U.S. lawmakers were seized for political purposes. That abuse of power ends now. Under my leadership, the FBI will deliver truth and accountability, and never again be weaponized against the American people,” FBI Director Kash Patel said.

Fox News shared further info:

Hawley told Fox News Digital on Monday that the newly released documents suggest that Biden’s administration was “spying on the president’s political opponents,” which he called “a profound violation of the separation of powers.”

He said the activity fits what he views as part of a broader pattern of executive overreach under Biden, citing alleged surveillance of Catholic churches, parents at school board meetings and social media censorship.

“The truth comes out. Biden’s Stasi who claimed to be saving ‘our sacred democracy’ in fact worked overtime to destroy it — all for power. They spied on Catholic churches, prosecuted pro-lifers, deployed the FBI against parents at school board meetings — and tried to tap the phones of their political enemies. Including mine,” Hawley wrote on X.

“This is an abuse of power beyond Watergate, beyond J. Edgar Hoover, one that directly strikes at the Constitution, the separation of powers, and the First Amendment,” he continued. “We need a full investigation of all involved: who knew about it, who ordered it, and who approved it. Anyone and everyone who violated the law must be prosecuted. The way to save the country is to restore the rule of law.”

Hawley said he was targeted because he is a conservative Republican who vocally opposed Biden and “his lawlessness.”

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“It’s obviously totally partisan,” the senator said, adding that he’s proud to have called out what he described as the abuse of power by the FBI. He also said the alleged conduct was “dangerous, very, very dangerous” for the country.

Hawley said the scope of the alleged surveillance was even greater than Watergate.

“This is worse than Watergate,” he said, arguing that Biden “activated the entire government to go after anybody who dared to oppose him.” He accused the administration of using agencies such as the FBI, DOJ and DHS to silence critics and monitor private citizens.

 

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