Senator Rick Scott has called for an investigation into what he describes as unlawful surveillance of Republican lawmakers by the Department of Justice (DOJ) under President Biden. In a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Scott alleged that his phone records and those of other Republicans were subpoenaed during the DOJ’s “Arctic Frost” investigation.
Scott stated, “As you are already aware, recent disclosures have revealed that the Biden administration spied on Republican members of Congress during its ‘Arctic Frost’ investigation by, among other things, subpoenaing their phone records. Yesterday, I learned that my own cell phone records were subpoenaed, and that Jack Smith and Judge James Boasberg prohibited my phone carrier from notifying me.”
He continued by citing federal law: “The Biden administration’s secretive surveillance of Congress not only represents a violent assault on our constitutional separation of powers, but it also appears to be in clear violation of federal law. 2 U.S.C. § 6628 states that ‘any provider for a Senate office . . . shall not be barred, through operation of any court order or any statutory provision, from notifying the Senate office of any legal process seeking disclosure of Senate data.’ And ‘Senate office’ is defined broadly in the statute to ‘includ[e] a Senator’ and even one of his interns.”
Scott claimed that after former President Donald Trump announced his 2024 campaign against then-President Biden on November 15, 2022, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Jack Smith to investigate Trump three days later. According to Scott, “As part of this blatant political prosecution, Smith asked Judge Boasberg, an Obama appointee, to issue subpoenas to telecommunication companies for the cell phone records of Republican members of Congress, including me. This was part of a series of hundreds of subpoenas that targeted over 400 Republicans and, to this day, no legal predicate has been offered for this astonishing abuse of power.”
He argued that these actions violated constitutional protections: “This invasion of privacy directly assaulted Congress’s core Article I functions protected by the Speech and Debate Clause. Additionally, it represented prosecutorial and judicial misconduct. Indeed, when granting these subpoena requests, Judge Boasberg ordered the telecom companies to conceal the subpoenas from the targeted senators. In doing so, Smith and Judge Boasberg appear to have violated Section 6628. They should be held accountable.”
Scott urged Bondi to investigate further: “I am therefore joining my Republican colleagues in urging you to thoroughly investigate this matter, and to promptly refer the findings to the appropriate state bar associations to begin disbarment proceedings against Jack Smith. I also ask that you provide your findings to Congress so that we can assess whether to begin impeachment proceedings against Judge Boasberg.”
He concluded by referencing previous incidents involving government agencies: “I am no stranger to political weaponization of the government. Biden’s IRS wrongfully released my tax records, and President Bill Clinton’s DOJ targeted me for going against Hillarycare. This type of corruption will not stop unless those responsible have been held fully accountable.”
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