During a recent Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on September 16, 2025, Sen. Chuck Grassley brought to light troubling allegations regarding the FBI’s conduct during the Biden administration. The senator revealed that under former Director Christopher Wray, the FBI did not limit its investigations to President Trump alone; in fact, it also targeted conservative organizations, including Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA (TPUSA).
Sen. Grassley began his remarks by providing context about the investigative program known as Arctic Frost. “At your nomination hearing,” he said, “I made public records that whistleblowers provided me about Arctic Frost. Arctic Frost was the FBI case opened and approved by anti-Trump FBI agent Thibault.” He explained that the focus of Arctic Frost quickly expanded beyond electoral issues to encompass a wider array of Republican political organizations, raising significant concerns regarding political bias in the FBI’s actions.
Grassley explicitly stated, “These new records show that Arctic Frost was much broader than just an electoral matter. The case was expanded to Republican organizations.” He highlighted the seriousness of the situation by mentioning specific groups targeted by the FBI’s investigations. “Some examples of the groups the Wray FBI sought to place under political investigation included the Republican National Committee, Republican Attorneys General Association, and Trump political groups,” he noted.
The senator detailed that nearly 100 Republican entities fell under the scope of Arctic Frost. Among these, Charlie Kirk’s TPUSA was named as a specific target. “In total, 92 Republican targets, including Republican groups and Republican-linked individuals, were placed under the investigative scope of Arctic Frost,” Grassley said, emphasizing the breadth of the investigation and its implications.
Grassley continued to stress that Arctic Frost was not just an attempt to probe Trump politically but rather a method used by the FBI to investigate large swaths of the Republican political landscape. “In other words, Arctic Frost wasn’t just a case to politically investigate Trump. 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,” Grassley insisted. He concluded by announcing that he and Senator Johnson would be making this information public, stating, “Today, Senator Johnson and I are making these records public for the country to see.”
During the same hearing, Grassley raised additional issues, including the unjust treatment of Trump ally Peter Navarro. He accused the FBI of investigating Navarro based on false assumptions, stating, “My investigative work has also exposed the political way in which Peter Navarro was investigated and prosecuted.” Grassley revealed that he had obtained audio recordings that shed light on the circumstances surrounding Navarro’s subpoena. “When FBI agent Thibault found out that Biden’s DOJ would prosecute Navarro, he said, ‘Wow. Great,’” Grassley noted.
He further indicated a concerning pattern of deception in the FBI’s description of its interactions with Navarro. “In a court document filed by DOJ, Navarro’s interaction with the FBI was unfairly described as ‘combative,’” Grassley said. He pointed out that this misrepresentation served as justification for the FBI’s aggressive arrest and prosecution of Navarro.
Overall, Sen. Grassley’s testimony during the hearing sheds light on significant allegations about the politicization of the FBI under the Biden administration. The revelations about the Arctic Frost operation and the scrutiny of conservative organizations raise questions about the integrity of federal investigations and the potential misuse of power. As more evidence comes to light, the implications of these actions may resonate through the political landscape.
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