Concerns Raised Over FBI’s Seizure of GOP Senators’ Phone Records

Professor Alan Delsitz, a Harvard University professor emeritus, commented on Monday during a segment on Fox Business, noting that former special adviser Jack Smith apparently lacks knowledge about the private phone records of a Republican senator.

On the same day, Senate Republican Chuck Grassley disclosed that the FBI utilized a sweeping subpoena in 2023 to obtain phone records from nine GOP senators. Grassley characterized this action as a politically motivated misuse of power. Delsitz shared his perspective on “The Evening Edit,” emphasizing the gravity of the situation.

“To my knowledge, the notion of a special adviser intruding into a private call without notifying the phone’s recipient seems quite troubling. I think this warrants a Congressional investigation. Jack Smith should be embarrassed,” Delsitz remarked to host Elizabeth MacDonald.

He asserted that Smith’s conduct blatantly overstepped constitutional boundaries, indicating an urgent need for Congressional oversight.

“This is clearly excessive. There are fundamental constitutional protections in place. Though, of course, the telephone didn’t exist during the time the Constitution was written,” Delsitz mentioned when asked if the special adviser’s actions were overreaching.

Meanwhile, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley released records on Monday, asserting that the FBI had lawfully acquired the phone records through a proper process. He pointed out that the documents reveal eight Republican colleagues were targeted during an investigation labeled “Arctic Frost” linked to an alleged election conspiracy. This investigation later informed Jack Smith’s electoral case against Trump, Grassley noted.

Documents from September suggested that the Biden administration’s probe led to Trump’s indictment and included investigations into multiple conservative organizations, such as Turning Point USA and the RNC. Grassley reported that the “Arctic Frost” investigation adversely affected 92 Republican individuals.

Grassley accused the FBI of misusing the “Arctic Frost” investigation to inappropriately target a broader spectrum of Republican political figures for partisan reasons.

“The Arctic Frost was not merely a political investigation of Trump,” Grassley stated in his opening remarks for the Judiciary Committee’s FBI oversight hearing. “It served as a vehicle for some partisan agents at the FBI and DOJ to pursue political objectives and conduct investigations into the entire Republican political apparatus.”