Patel: Probe Into Trump, GOP Lawmakers Over Jan. 6 Weak On Evidence
In newly released documents, the FBI memo that sparked the Biden-era “Arctic Frost” probe into President Donald J. Trump and hundreds of Republican allies over their actions related to January 6 is drawing sharp criticism from former prosecutors and ex-FBI officials. Their independent reviews point to weak evidence, political motivation, and a lack of clear legal grounding behind the investigation’s launch.
The Arctic Frost probe — which later moved under Special Counsel Jack Smith — treated the effort by Trump supporters to submit alternate slates of electors during the 2020 electoral certification as a potential criminal conspiracy. Yet, similar historical disputes over electors in U.S. history were never prosecuted, raising immediate questions about why this instance was treated differently under the Biden administration.
According to details first reported by Just the News, the memo that justified opening the investigation in spring 2022, just as President Trump announced his return to presidential campaigning, relied primarily on CNN interview clips as the basis for alleging wrongdoing. The initiating FBI supervisor behind the memo had previously expressed anti-Trump views, and the memo itself lacked the standard corroborating intelligence usually required for a probe of this magnitude.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan has likened the Arctic Frost investigation to the infamous “Crossfire Hurricane” debacle that fueled the now-discredited Trump–Russia collusion narrative during Trump’s first term.
“Sure looks that way. … and it looks like this was just the same old weaponization, same old political focus, focus on politics, going after your political enemies,” Jordan said.
He continued:
“Same mindset that said we’re going to put the dossier in the intelligence community assessment, even though we know the dossier is garbage, we know there’s no underlying intelligence support.”
“That same mindset that was there in 2016 is the mindset we see now in 2022 with Arctic Frost, and then as it transformed into Jack Smith, special counsel, later in 2022—same mindset. So yeah, that’s what it sure looks like.”
Despite public denials of political intent, documents now indicate that Arctic Frost was approved at the highest levels of the Biden administration — including Attorney General Merrick Garland, Deputy AG Lisa Monaco, FBI Director Christopher Wray, and even a lawyer connected to the White House.
Once underway, the probe expanded dramatically. Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office issued 197 subpoenas affecting more than 400 Republican organizations and individuals, according to new disclosures from Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA). Meanwhile, the House Judiciary Committee separately revealed that more than 160 Republicans were flagged for potential investigation simply based on their proximity to President Trump.
The original opening memo — formally titled “Requests Opening of New Investigation – Arctic Frost” — was signed in April 2022. It classified the effort as a “Sensitive Investigative Matter”, reflecting the political implications of targeting a sitting presidential candidate. It was approved by Timothy Thibault, who later left the FBI after his anti-Trump commentary surfaced publicly, along with several high-ranking bureau officials including Steve D’Antuono and then–Deputy Director Paul Abbate.
Jordan has now asked Special Counsel Smith to testify — and has made clear that a subpoena will follow if Smith refuses.
Smith says he will present his side of the story in due time.
But critics say the pattern is unmistakable: a political justice system weaponized against the sitting President and his movement.