{"id":2672909,"date":"2026-09-29T19:29:01","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T23:29:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/whistleblower-says-jack-smith-gathered-journalists-messages-for-arctic-frost\/"},"modified":"2026-09-29T19:29:58","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T23:29:58","slug":"whistleblower-says-jack-smith-gathered-journalists-messages-for-arctic-frost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/whistleblower-says-jack-smith-gathered-journalists-messages-for-arctic-frost\/","title":{"rendered":"Whistleblower says Jack Smith gathered journalists&#8217; messages for Arctic Frost"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwhistleblower-says-jack-smith-gathered-journalists-messages-for-arctic-frost%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2672909&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Former special counsel Jack Smith conducted an inquiry called \u201cArctic Frost,\u201d during which he obtained private messages involving journalists from over a dozen national news outlets, related to his probe into President Trump\u2019s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Thes messages were disclosed by a whistleblower to Senate Judiciary committee Chairman Chuck Grassley. The records were part of a broader effort that included facts from 87 phones used by Trump-era officials,obtained through a subpoena to the National Archives. The journalists whose messages were accessed worked for outlets such as the Associated Press,Reuters,CNN,Fox News,and others; tho,thay were not targets of the investigation,only their communications with government officials. Grassley criticized what he called government overreach and partisan misuse of investigatory powers. During a Senate hearing, Smith asserted his actions adhered to Department of Justice policies and were driven by evidence.The investigation also revealed extensive surveillance of lawmakers, including Republicans, with records showing interaction between Trump officials and Congress members, suggesting efforts to investigate potential collusion during the certification of Biden\u2019s 2020 victory.Additionally, investigators obtained thousands of donor checks, including personal details, from individuals across the U.S., and smith dismissed claims that Republicans were specifically targeted because of their political affiliation.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Former special counsel <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/jack-smith\/\">Jack Smith<\/a> gathered reporters\u2019 private messages as part of his \u201cArctic Frost\u201d investigation, according to <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.judiciary.senate.gov\/press\/rep\/releases\/breaking-jack-smith-obtained-journalist-communications-with-government-sources\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.judiciary.senate.gov\/press\/rep\/releases\/breaking-jack-smith-obtained-journalist-communications-with-government-sources\">a whistleblower disclosure<\/a> to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/chuck-grassley\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"963\">Chuck Grassley<\/a> (R-IA).<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The records show Smith\u2019s team received communications involving reporters from more than a dozen national news organizations while investigating President Donald Trump\u2019s efforts to overturn the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/2020-elections\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"228\">2020 election.<\/a> The messages were produced by the National Archives in response to a June 2023 subpoena seeking records associated with 87 phones used by officials in Trump\u2019s first White House.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<style>.explore-more-section { background: var(--wex-bg); border-top: 1px solid #ffffff; border-bottom: 1px solid #ffffff; margin: 24px 0; margin-top: -20px; }<\/style>\n<style id=\"mos-0bff160c-8569-4e55-90f4-394b32f89a1b-style\">@scope (#mos-0bff160c-8569-4e55-90f4-394b32f89a1b) { .we-meter {   --we-red: #DB3745;   --we-charcoal: #323E48;   --we-blue: #15BEF0;   --we-slate: #85A0AB;   --we-gold: #ECC270;   --we-text: #323E48;   --we-border: #85A0AB;    max-width: 800px;   margin: 0 auto;   padding: 1.5rem;   border: 1px solid rgba(33, 39, 42, 0.4);   border-radius: 12px;   background: #fff;   color: var(--we-text);   font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif !important; }  .we-grid {   display: grid;   grid-template-columns: 1fr 200px;   gap: 1.5rem;   align-items: center; }  .we-title {   margin: 0 0 0.5rem;   font-family: Constantia, \"Lucida Bright\", \"DejaVu Serif\", Georgia, \"serif\" !important;   font-size: 1.75rem !important;   line-height: 1.1 !important;   letter-spacing: -0.02em !important; }  .we-title span {   display: block;   color: var(--we-red); }  .we-copy {   margin: 0;   font-size: 1rem !important;   line-height: 1.4 !important; }  .we-actions {   text-align: center; }  .we-cta {   display: flex;   align-items: center;   justify-content: center;   gap: 8px;   width: 100%;   padding: 12px 16px;   border-radius: 8px;   background: var(--we-red);   color: #fff !important;   text-decoration: none;   font-size: 0.9rem !important;   font-weight: 700 !important; }  .we-arrow {   font-size: 1.2em !important; }  .we-member {   margin: 12px 0 0;   font-size: 0.85rem !important;   line-height: 1.4 !important; }  .we-member a {   color: var(--we-red);   text-decoration: none; }  @media (max-width: 600px) {   .we-grid {     grid-template-columns: 1fr;     gap: 1rem;   }   .we-meter {     padding: 1.25rem;   }   .we-cta {     padding: 14px;   } } }<\/style>\n<p><script>if (typeof CSSScopeRule == 'undefined') { const style = document.getElementById('mos-0bff160c-8569-4e55-90f4-394b32f89a1b-style'); if (style) { style.textContent = style.textContent.replace(\/^@scope (#mos-0bff160c-8569-4e55-90f4-394b32f89a1b) { \/, '').replace(\/}$\/, '');}}<\/script><\/p>\n<div id=\"mos-0bff160c-8569-4e55-90f4-394b32f89a1b\" style=\"display: contents;\">\n<section class=\"we-meter\" aria-label=\"Washington Examiner subscription meter\">\n<div class=\"we-grid\">\n<div>\n<h2 class=\"we-title\">Stay informed.<span>Stay ahead.<\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"we-copy\">                  Join Washington Examiner for unlimited access to the news, analysis, and commentary that matter most.       <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"we-actions\">       <a class=\"we-cta\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/subscribe\/digital\/\">         <span>See Options<\/span>         <span class=\"we-arrow\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\u203a<\/span>       <\/a>       <\/p>\n<p class=\"we-member\">Already a member? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/sign-in\/\">Log in<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The journalists worked for outlets including the <em>Associated Press,<\/em> <em>Reuters<\/em>, CNN, Fox News, CBS News, CNBC, the <em>Washington Post<\/em>, the <em>Wall Street Journal<\/em>, <em>Bloomberg<\/em>, NPR, and the<em> Los Angeles Times<\/em>, according to Grassley\u2019s office.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The disclosure does not indicate that the journalists themselves were targets of the investigation. Rather, their messages with government officials were included in the White House records obtained by investigators.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhat will the partisan media say about this disgraceful government overreach? This wasn\u2019t a normal prosecution by any means,\u201d Grassley said in announcing the findings.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The disclosure came the same day Smith appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee, where Republicans pressed him over the breadth of Arctic Frost and Democrats defended the investigation into Trump.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Smith maintained that his investigation followed Department of Justice policies and was driven by evidence rather than politics.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Much of Tuesday\u2019s hearing focused on Smith\u2019s efforts to obtain records involving lawmakers. Grassley for months has released records showing the surveillance by Smith\u2019s team extended to a large number of Republican lawmakers as well.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As part of Smith\u2019s surveillance sweep, he obtained communications between Trump White House officials and members of <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/congress\/\">Congress<\/a> through the National Archives subpoena. Grassley has said subpoenas for 87 White House phones yielded communications involving 44 lawmakers, including the timing and contents of personal conversations, not just phone tolls.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Smith told senators those records were relevant because investigators had evidence Trump and his allies contracted lawmakers as Congress prepared to certify Joe Biden\u2019s 2020 victory.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4747100\/jack-smith-dodges-questions-spying-republicans\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4747100\/jack-smith-dodges-questions-spying-republicans\/\">JACK SMITH DODGES QUESTIONS ABOUT SPYING ON REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During the hearing, Grassley also disclosed that investigators obtained <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4746937\/grassley-smith-check-trump-donors-bank-account-numbers-arctic-frost\/\">at least 4,782 donor checks<\/a>, including for contributions to Trump as small as $1. The chairman said the checks included home addresses, bank account and routing numbers, and signatures from people across all 50 states, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/washington-dc\/\">Washington, D.C.<\/a>, and <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/puerto-rico\/\">Puerto Rico<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Smith rejected accusations that Republicans were targeted because of their political affiliation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jack Smith collected reporters\u2019 messages in \u201cArctic Frost\u201d probe, whistleblower says<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4130,"featured_media":2672910,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/092926_JACK_SMITH-10-e1790710272188.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[64902,3976,32463,5313,14057],"class_list":["post-2672909","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-arctic-frost","tag-investigation","tag-jack-smith","tag-journalists","tag-whistleblower"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/092926_JACK_SMITH-10-e1790710272188.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2672909","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4130"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2672909"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2672909\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2672912,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2672909\/revisions\/2672912"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2672910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2672909"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2672909"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2672909"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}