Prominent influencers within President Trump’s MAGA movement have called for former special counsel Jack Smith to be arrested after the Republican-led Senate Judiciary Committee published documents indicating the FBI targeted the cell phones of eight GOP Senator’s as part of its ‘Arctic Frost’ investigation. This formed the basis of Smith’s special counsel investigation into Trump, which in turn led to criminal charges.
Smith’s team claimed Trump and key allies broke the law when attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election result though charges were dropped after Trump won the 2024 presidential election in November.
Newsweek contacted the FBI and President Biden, via the Biden presidential library, for comment on Tuesday by email. Smith was also contacted via the Department of Justice and legal firm Covington & Burling, which did a significant amount of pro bono legal work for him.
Why It Matters
Trump repeatedly described the floury of criminal cases he faced in 2023 and 2024 as a politically motivated “witch hunt” against him, and in August 2025, the Office of the Special Counsel confirmed to the BBC that it had opened an investigation into Smith’s activities.
Trump supporters have been demanding action over what they view as a slew of politically motivated legal cases against him, though critics argue this is an attempt by the Trump administration to get revenge and silence and intimidate its opponents.
What To Know
On October 6 the Senate Judiciary Committee published an FBI document which they said showed the agency obtained phone data regarding the activities of 10 Republican senators between January 4 and 7 2021, a period covering the January 6 storming of Congress by Trump supporters.
According to the document, FBI agents working on its Arctic Frost investigation received data showing when and to whom the 10 Republican senators made calls during this period, along with the call length and their location when it took place.
The Arctic Frost investigation formed the basis of Special Counsel Smith’s own inquiry into the 2020 election interference which led to a federal indictment of Trump in August 2023, though charges were dropped following the 2024 presidential election.
The ten Republican Senators reportedly targeted were: Lindsey Graham, Bill Hagerty, Josh Hawley, Dan Sullivan, Tommy Tuberville, Ron Johnson, Cynthia Lummis, Marsha Blackburn and Mike Kelly.
In response, a number of prominent MAGA accounts on social media called for Smith to be arrested.
Eric Daugherty, a conservative media personality with over 645,000 followers, wrote on X: “In a BOMBSHELL discovery, senators have uncovered that the Biden FBI SPIED on eight GOP senators during Jack Smith’s “Arctic Frost” investigation that was eventually weaponized against President Trump. This is grounds for ARREST.”
Retired General Mike Flynn posted: “While the FBI should arrest Jack Smith immediately (but likely won’t), he will not get away with anything and he knows it.”
The ‘SteveLovesAmmo’ X account, which has nearly 430,000 X followers, made a post that ended with “Arrest Jack Smith!”
What People Are Saying
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said in a post on X: “I have grave concerns about a new report showing that the Biden-era FBI spied on Republican senators – and I fully support Senate committees getting to the bottom of this outrageous abuse of power and weaponization of the government.”
Republican Senator Chuck Grassley wrote: “This document shows the Biden FBI spied on 8 of my Republican Senate colleagues during its Arctic Frost investigation into “election conspiracy” Arctic Frost later became Jack Smith’s elector case against Trump. BIDEN FBI WEAPONIZATION = WORSE THAN WATERGATE.”
Speaking on CNN, former federal prosecutor Jeffrey Toobin said: “It’s not even news. Jack Smith cites these conversations in his report. So this is not like he was trying to keep this a secret. And remember what Smith was investigating. He was investigating Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the election through the use of fake electors in congress.”
GOP Representative Thomas Massie wrote: “This is insane. What’s more insane… the Republican controlled House and Senate and White House won’t cut anyone’s budget who did this. Also, no one will be fired.”
FBI Director Kash Patel said: “We recently uncovered proof that phone records of U.S. lawmakers were seized for political purposes. That abuse of power ends now. Under my leadership, the FBI will deliver truth and accountability, and never again be weaponized against the American people.”
Commentator Mark Bland wrote on X: “Jack Smith presented evidence of probable cause that 8 of your Republican colleagues were involved in a conspiracy to overturn the election. That’s illegal! He was following the law! What is this disconnect between Republicans and crime?”
What Happens Next
It remains to be seen whether the Trump administration will seek criminal charges against Smith in response to the alleged cell phone monitoring.
If it does, following the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, critics will almost certainly argue the administration is launching a campaign against its political opponents.
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