WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) — Republican Senator Josh Hawley is calling the spy campaign the Biden-era FBI conducted on him and eight of his colleagues one of the worst political scandals in American history.
“This is an abuse of power beyond Watergate, beyond J. Edgar Hoover, one that directly strikes at the Constitution, the separation of powers, and the First Amendment,” Hawley exclaimed earlier this week.
Hawley was responding to a bombshell FBI document released by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley that revealed the FBI under Joe Biden looked at cell phone data and records of eight senators — as well as one member of the House of Representatives — as part of its “Arctic Frost” investigation into events related to January 6.
An irate Hawley appeared on Fox News to tear into Jack Smith, Biden’s special council who oversaw the operation.
“Joe Biden & his goons went on their witch hunt in 2023 – just before the 2024 election. They wanted to destroy the entire Republican Party and knock out anyone associated with Trump. THAT’S why they tracked my calls and spied on my location,” Hawley exclaimed. “We need a special prosecutor who is going to go at this hard.”
Joe Biden & his goons went on their witch hunt in 2023 – just before the 2024 election
They wanted to destroy the entire Republican Party and knock out anyone associated with Trump
THAT’S why they tracked my calls and spied on my location pic.twitter.com/QqZZFaEsh4
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) October 8, 2025
Hawley wasn’t the only Republican to excoriate the political left for having used the intelligence community to attack conservatives.
“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,” FBI Director Kash Patel said on social media platform X this week.
READ: Biden FBI spied on nine Republican members of Congress, new document reveals
CNN and other liberal outlets like Politico have sought to diminish the controversial nature of the monitoring by arguing that Hawley and his colleagues’ phones were not “tapped” but that the FBI had merely obtained call log data after the fact via court order. Hawley pushed back against those claims by arguing that the methodology used on him and others can not be considered anything other than tapping.
“This is what was happening under Joe Biden. United States senators spied upon. Former presidents — the political opponents of the president at the time — targeted, prosecuted. Pro-lifers targeted, prosecuted. Catholics targeted, prosecuted. Ninety-two conservative organizations put under surveillance, targeted for potential prosecution. Gee, I don’t know. Would you call that an example of weaponization, Attorney General Bondi? Do you think that’s a fair characterization?” Hawley remarked Tuesday while Pam Bondi, Trump’s attorney general, testified to lawmakers.
SEN. JOSH HAWLEY:
“This is what was happening under Joe Biden. United States senators spied upon. Former presidents — the political opponents of the president at the time — targeted, prosecuted.”
“Pro-lifers targeted, prosecuted. Catholics targeted, prosecuted. Ninety-two… pic.twitter.com/9SKkaZLbRT
— Fox News (@FoxNews) October 7, 2025
The document that revealed the spying was first discovered after an oversight request was made by Sen. Grassley into the Arctic Frost operation. It was shared with Senate Republicans in a private Monday meeting with FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino, the Washington Times reported. Grassley himself denounced the operation as “disturbing” while also decrying it as “arguably worse than Watergate.”
The nine lawmakers who were tracked by the FBI include Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, and Rep. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania. Almost all of them either voted to object to electoral counts during the 2020 presidential election or indicated they would before changing their minds after the Capitol was breached on January 6, 2021.
Arctic Frost was initially a joint investigation launched in April 2022 involving the FBI, DOJ Office of Inspector General (OIG), U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and National Archives and Records Administration (OIG). Special Counsel Jack Smith took over the project in November 2022. While it allegedly focused on the “conspiracy” to “overturn” the 2020 presidential election, its scope widened to investigate mainstream Republican organizations for unclear reasons.
“We need a full investigation of all involved: who knew about it, who ordered it, and who approved it,” Hawley remarked. “Anyone and everyone who violated the law must be prosecuted. The way to save the country is to restore the rule of law.”
