Top Biden administration officials personally authorized an FBI investigation that targeted nearly 100 Republican-aligned groups, donors, and even sitting members of Congress, newly released records show — a move senior Republicans are now calling one of the most egregious abuses of federal power in decades.

The unclassified files, made public Thursday by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), reveal that former Attorney General Merrick Garland, then–Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, and former FBI Director Christopher Wray all signed off on the operation, code-named “Arctic Frost.” The April 2022 memo formally greenlit a sweeping probe into what the bureau described as “an apparent effort to obstruct Congress’ certification of the Electoral College” following the 2020 presidential election.

Grassley accused the Justice Department and FBI of “unleashing unchecked government power at the highest levels,” warning that “Arctic Frost” amounted to “weaponized law enforcement that’s arguably worse than Watergate.”

“My oversight will continue,” Grassley wrote on X, calling the findings a “bombshell” that exposed a “systematic effort to surveil political opponents.”

The four-page authorization memo, dated April 4, 2022, was written by Wray and sent to Garland for approval. The FBI chief argued that “open-source reporting and public statements made by individuals closely associated with Donald J. Trump, Inc. (Trump Campaign) present an articulable factual basis indicating the existence of a federal crime.”

The document was signed by Garland the following day. Beneath his signature line, Monaco scrawled a handwritten note: “Merrick, I recommend you approve.”

Though initially framed as an investigation into fake elector slates allegedly submitted to the National Archives from several battleground states, the operation soon widened to include a broad range of conservative figures, advocacy organizations, and lawmakers.

The probe would later provide materials used by special counsel Jack Smith in his failed criminal case against Donald Trump, which alleged unlawful efforts to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 victory.

According to Grassley’s disclosures, “Arctic Frost” expanded far beyond the Trump campaign orbit. The FBI quietly subpoenaed phone records belonging to nine congressional Republicans, including Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), and Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.).

The subpoenas sought “toll analysis” data — records showing call times, recipients, durations, and locations — for the days surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Grassley said the move constituted “a direct surveillance of members of Congress,” raising constitutional and separation-of-powers concerns.

“The Biden DOJ issued subpoenas to obtain our cell phone records,” Blackburn wrote in a letter co-signed by several affected lawmakers. “We have yet to learn of any legal predicate for doing so.”

Blackburn has since accused Smith of having “spied on duly elected members of Congress” and called for his disbarment.

The newly released records also show that 92 Republican or GOP-linked organizations and individuals — including prominent political groups such as Turning Point USA — were investigated under Arctic Frost. Grassley said that the operation “appeared to show Arctic Frost was much broader than just an electoral matter.”

“Arctic Frost wasn’t just a case to politically investigate Trump,” Grassley said at a recent committee hearing. “It was the vehicle by which partisan FBI agents and DOJ prosecutors could achieve their partisan ends and improperly investigate the entire Republican political apparatus.”

President Trump, responding to the revelations, accused the Biden administration of running a political vendetta. “They weaponized the Justice Department against Sleepy Joe Biden’s political opponents, including ME!” Trump said. “They tried to force Charlie [Kirk] and many others out of business.”

Grassley vowed further hearings, suggesting subpoenas may follow for Monaco, Wray, and other senior officials. “When the nation’s top law enforcement agencies turn their power inward — toward political adversaries — it ceases to be justice,” he said.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)