Jack Smith Spied On The Federalist During Anti-Trump Witch Hunt
Former Special Counsel Jack Smith obtained communications from The Federalist and over a dozen other media outlets during his investigation into Trump, reportedly in an attempt to target Republicans and members of Congress. these records were part of a broader effort that involved subpoenaing text messages from 87 phones used by officials during Trump’s first term. Smith’s investigation,referred to as “Arctic frost,” is criticized as unconstitutional and described as a politically motivated effort that included spying on Congress members and media organizations.
Grassley revealed that Smith’s team targeted hundreds of Republican groups and individuals, and obtained communications with various media outlets such as 60 Minutes, Associated Press, CNN, Fox News, The Washington Post, and The Federalist, among others. Smith also subpoenaed records of members of Congress, despite concerns over violating the Speech or Debate clause, wich protects legislative activities from executive branch interference. Grassley accused smith’s team of disregarding these protections and even discussed attempting to bypass legal barriers.
The Federalist, which has a history of exposing alleged corruption, expressed concern over being targeted and indicated plans to explore legal options. The investigation apparently extended beyond the January 6th events, encompassing records from 2019 to 2023, suggesting the broader intent to map and monitor the Republican party and its allied entities, including media. Grassley concluded that while Smith indicted Trump, his true achievement was mapping the broader Republican and media network involved.
Former Special Counsel Jack Smith obtained communications from The Federalist, along with more than a dozen other media outlets, during his anti-Trump lawfare, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, revealed Tuesday during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.
The Federalist was among more than a dozen media organizations whose communications appeared in records that the National Archives turned over after Smith’s office subpoenaed text messages from 87 phones used by officials in Trump’s first term. Smith’s witch hunt, known as “Arctic Frost,” was an unconstitutional effort to get Trump that resulted in Smith’s team spying on members of Congress and apparently members of the media.
The Federalist’s Margot Cleveland explained that Arctic Frost was designed to “target Republicans in key battleground states.” During this sham investigation, Smith also secretly obtained the phone records of several sitting senators.
As part of those spying efforts, Smith also “targeted hundreds of Republican groups and individuals” and “subpoenaed communications those folks had with the media and legislative branch,” Grassley said on Tuesday.
“What I can say today is that Smith also obtained communications from members of the media, to include: 60 Minutes, Associated Press, Bloomberg, CBS, CNBC, CNN, Fox News, LA Times, Mark Levin Show, Media Research Center, NBC, NPR, NY Magazine, Reuters, The Federalist, The Washington Post, Washington Times and the Wall Street Journal,” Grassley revealed.
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Grassley said Smith subpoenaed “87 Trump White House phones, knowing they’d include communications with Members of Congress.” Grassley accused Smith of failing to “filter out Speech or Debate privileged information, even though he and his team knew they’d scoop it up with their requests.”
The Constitution’s Speech or Debate clause prohibits a member of Congress’ legislative work from being targeted by the executive branch. Grassley accused Smith and his team of failing to take those concerns and risks seriously and, instead, dismissed them.
Grassley said that Smith’s staff were “aware of Speech or Debate concerns and targeting congressional toll records” and in some messages discussed “how they can circumvent the statutory barriers Congress put in place to obtain congressional toll records.” Notably, one set of messages obtained by Grassley show Smith’s deputy, J.P. Cooney, saying he was an “advocate for repealing the clause.”
The Federalist CEO and co-founder Sean Davis said in a statement that “We are still working to determine which of our reporters were targeted by Jack Smith and which journalistic communications he and his thugs seized.”
“The Federalist’s team of investigative reporters exposed the Russian collusion hoax. We exposed the Kavanaugh hoax. We exposed the Ukraine impeachment hoax. And The Federalist’s Editor-in-Chief Mollie Hemingway wrote the definitive account of how Democrats seized control of election infrastructure and destroyed the integrity of American elections in 2020,” Davis said.
“For over a decade, The Federalist has fearlessly exposed Deep State corruption and DOJ lies and lawfare. Spying on us was apparently part of Jack Smith’s plot to get revenge against us,” he continued.
Davis says The Federalist “will explore all legal options going forward to deal with Jack Smith’s lawless and un-American attempts to silence us by spying on us.”
Grassley also revealed that while Smith claimed to be focused on January 6, 2021, his team subpoenaed records dating back years, including “information on Republican groups as early as 2019 and as late as 2023.”
“You see, that’s why you must do if your case is designed to map out and target the entire Republican Party,” Grassley said.
As Grassley closed his remarks, he observed that “In the end, Smith indicted one person — President Trump — but successfully mapped out the Republican apparatus” — including members of the media.
Brianna Lyman is an elections correspondent at The Federalist. Brianna graduated from Fordham University with a degree in International Political Economy. Her work has been featured on Newsmax, Fox News, Fox Business and RealClearPolitics. Follow Brianna on X: @briannalyman2
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