▶ Key Takeaways
- Jack Smith’s Arctic Frost investigation reportedly issued 197 subpoenas involving more than 400 Republican and conservative individuals and organizations.
- The investigation obtained telephone toll records connected to Republican members of Congress, including Tennessee Senator Bill Hagerty.
- Toll records generally reveal metadata such as numbers contacted, dates, times, and call duration, rather than the audio content of conversations.
- Separate Arctic Frost disclosures indicate investigators also obtained text messages involving dozens of members of Congress.
- Justice Department attorneys warned Smith’s team that subpoenaing lawmakers’ records presented constitutional risks under the Speech or Debate Clause.
- AT&T questioned the legal basis for a subpoena involving Senator Ted Cruz and did not produce his records, while Verizon complied with subpoenas involving other Republican lawmakers.
- Verizon later failed to identify the Arctic Frost subpoenas when Senator Chuck Grassley asked the company to disclose federal requests involving Senate telephone lines, attributing the omission to “human error.”
- Hagerty filed an FCC complaint alleging that Verizon violated federal law and failed to protect his private customer information, while Verizon maintains that it responded to facially valid legal demands accompanied by nondisclosure orders.
- The controversy illustrates the danger posed when ideologically driven bureaucrats use government authority to pursue objectives outside meaningful electoral accountability.
- President Trump’s continuing battle over FBI, intelligence-community, and policy-influencing personnel demonstrates that changing administrations does not automatically eliminate entrenched bureaucratic power.
- Fighting the deep state must mean restoring constitutional accountability—not replacing partisan weaponization by one party with partisan weaponization by another.
- Permanent reforms are needed to restrict secret political surveillance, strengthen congressional oversight, protect whistleblowers, limit gag orders, and hold government and corporate decision-makers accountable.
- The scandal reinforces the central warning in Craig Huey’s book The Deep State: government power can be abused invisibly through investigations, subpoenas, secrecy orders, regulations, and unaccountable bureaucratic decisions.
It happened secretly.
Sitting United States senators had their telephone records collected as part of a federal investigation aimed at President Donald Trump and hundreds of Republicans and conservative organizations.
The senators were not informed.
The public knew nothing about it.
Congressional investigators say Verizon complied with the government’s demands—and then failed to disclose those subpoenas when Congress specifically asked the company to identify federal requests involving Senate telephone lines.
Verizon now attributes at least part of the failure to “human error.”
But Senator Bill Hagerty of Tennessee is not accepting that explanation.
Neither should the American people.
Hagerty has filed a formal complaint with the Federal Communications
Commission alleging that Verizon violated federal law and its responsibility to protect his private customer information.
“If this can happen to a sitting United States Senator, it can happen to any American,” Hagerty warned.
This is not simply a dispute over telephone records.
It is a warning about what I document in my book, The Deep State: 15 Surprising Dangers You Should Know.
Ideologically driven officials can use the enormous, largely invisible power of the federal government to pursue political objectives that voters never authorized.
Here are 8 alarming facts every American should know:
1. Jack Smith’s investigation became a sweeping dragnet aimed overwhelmingly at Republicans… and conservatives.
The operation was called “Arctic Frost.”
It began inside the FBI in 2022 and was subsequently absorbed into Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation of President Trump.
According to documents released through Senate Judiciary Committee oversight, Arctic Frost generated 197 subpoenas involving more than 400 Republican and conservative individuals and organizations.
The targets included sitting members of Congress, Trump advisers, Republican political organizations, conservative advocacy groups, and others associated with the effort to question or challenge the 2020 election results due to evidence of fraud or election irregularities.
The organizations swept into the investigation included the Republican National Committee, Turning Point USA, the Republican Attorneys General Association, the Conservative Partnership Institute, and the America First Policy Institute.
Senator Chuck Grassley described Arctic Frost as a vehicle through which partisan FBI agents and DOJ prosecutors could investigate “the entire Republican political apparatus.”
An investigation starts with a stated criminal purpose. It then expands outward—quietly gathering information about political organizations, elected officials, donors, advisers, lawyers, and activists who share a particular political viewpoint.
The stated target may be one man.
The actual dragnet can encompass an entire political movement.
2. Smith’s team sought records connected to 44 Republican lawmakers performing constitutional duties.
Among those targeted were Republican senators Bill Hagerty, Marsha Blackburn, Josh Hawley, Ron Johnson, Tommy Tuberville, Cynthia Lummis, Dan Sullivan, Ted Cruz, and others.
The government sought telephone “toll records”—metadata that can identify numbers contacted, dates, times, call duration, and related routing information.
These records generally do not contain recordings of conversations. But they can reveal a detailed map of a person’s relationships, movements, associations, and activities.
Separate Arctic Frost disclosures also revealed that investigators obtained or reviewed text messages involving dozens of members of Congress.
The constitutional issue is profound.
Members of Congress were communicating during the period surrounding the certification of the Electoral College vote—a core legislative proceeding.
The Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause is intended to protect legislators from executive-branch intimidation or intrusion into legitimate legislative activities.
Yet the records were pursued secretly.
3. Smith’s own legal advisers warned of constitutional problems.
This may be one of the most damaging revelations.
Documents released by Senators Grassley and Ron Johnson show that Justice Department lawyers warned Smith’s team of “litigation risk” involving the Speech or Debate Clause.
One internal communication cited court precedent stating that the constitutional bar against compelled disclosure of protected legislative material can be “absolute.”
But the senators were kept in the dark.
That secrecy meant they had no practical opportunity to assert their constitutional protections before their records were obtained.
If Smith’s lawyers recognized that elected legislators had a constitutional right to challenge disclosure, why were those legislators prevented from learning about the subpoenas until it was too late?
4. AT&T questioned the government—but Verizon complied.
The contrast between two telecommunications companies is revealing.
When AT&T recognized that a subpoena involved Senator Ted Cruz, the company questioned Smith’s office about its legal basis and the possible constitutional implications.
Smith’s team did not press the demand, and AT&T did not produce Cruz’s records in response to that subpoena.Verizon took a different approach.
It treated the demands as facially valid and produced records associated with Republican lawmakers.
Verizon “just rolled over,” Hagerty said.
5, Verizon failed to disclose the Arctic Frost subpoenas when Congress asked.
The controversy became even more serious in July 2026.
In October 2023, Senator Grassley asked Verizon to search for federal law-enforcement requests involving Senate devices between January 2016 and October 2023.
Verizon’s response did not identify the Arctic Frost subpoenas—even though two Senate Sergeant at Arms telephone numbers were reportedly included.
When questioned about this omission, Verizon blamed “human error.”
Grassley, Hagerty, Blackburn, Cruz, Hawley, and 11 other senators are now demanding a full explanation.
One clerical mistake might be human error.
But a subpoena involving Senate lines, a failure to alert the Senate, an incomplete response to congressional oversight, and an extended failure to correct the omission create a pattern that demands an independent investigation.
6. Hagerty says Verizon violated federal privacy law.
Hagerty has become the first known member of Congress to bring formal legal action arising from Arctic Frost.
His FCC complaint alleges that Verizon unlawfully disclosed his customer proprietary network information and failed to take reasonable measures to protect it.
He is not asking for personal compensation.
He is demanding:
- A written apology and admission of wrongdoing.
- Discipline for Verizon leaders responsible for the decision.
- Documents showing how the subpoena was processed.
- Disclosure of communications between Verizon and Smith’s office.
- Reforms preventing similar disclosures in the future.
- FCC sanctions and potentially an independent monitor if Verizon refuses to act.
Hagerty has specifically criticized Verizon Chief Legal Officer Vandana Venkatesh, noting that she previously served on the staff of Democratic Congressman Henry Waxman.
That background alone does not prove that Verizon’s response was politically motivated. But in a case involving secret government demands aimed at Republican elected officials, it is legitimate to examine the political and professional backgrounds of the decision-makers—and, more importantly, their actual communications and conduct.
Hagerty also connected Verizon’s actions to the company’s effort to obtain federal approval for its approximately $20 billion acquisition of Frontier Communications. He alleges Verizon continued withholding the full story while seeking approval for that transaction.
That does not establish a quid pro quo. It does establish why the FCC must investigate whether Verizon was fully candid with both Congress and federal regulators.
Hagerty’s office published the allegations and requested remedies contained in his FCC action.
7. This is how the deep state operates.
The term “deep state” is frequently mocked by the media.
But it does not require a secret room filled with people plotting together.
The deep state consists of ideologically driven officials, career bureaucrats, prosecutors, intelligence personnel, regulators, and government-aligned institutions that use the permanent machinery of government to accomplish political or ideological purposes—often invisibly and without meaningful accountability to voters.
Many federal employees are not part of the deep state.
But the problem is a politically committed group of federal bureaucrats placed in positions with tremendous power.
They can:
- Open or expand investigations.
- Select which legal theories to pursue.
- Leak damaging information.
- Conceal exculpatory or embarrassing facts.
- Delay policies they oppose.
- Draft regulations Congress never approved.
- Target political organizations with subpoenas.
- Demand private banking, telephone, location, or communications data.
- Hide their actions behind classification, grand-jury secrecy, or bureaucratic procedure.
America’s permanent bureaucracy remains enormous. Government Accountability Office data show that the civilian workforce across 22 major federal agencies fell by nearly 256,000 employees between December 2024 and January 2026—more than an 11% reduction.
That still leaves approximately two million civilian employees across those major agencies.
The danger is not merely the bureaucracy’s size.
It is the concentration of power in officials whom the people never elected, and whom are extraordinarily difficult to remove.
8. Trump is still confronting resistance inside the government.
President Trump’s return to office did not instantly eliminate the deep state.
Thousands of officials appointed, promoted, or ideologically shaped during prior administrations remain embedded throughout the executive branch.
Many are resisting through delay, selective enforcement, internal obstruction, hostile leaking, expansive interpretations of civil-service protections, and refusal to carry out lawful presidential or department directives.
Because much of that resistance occurs internally, it is difficult to prove in individual cases. But the structural conflict is unmistakable.
The administration has:
- Reduced the federal workforce.
- Dismissed or reassigned some FBI personnel connected to Arctic Frost and other Trump investigations.
- Eliminated or reduced DEI offices.
- Attempted to remove intelligence personnel assigned to DEI and other left programs.
- Reduced staffing at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
- Created “Schedule Policy/Career” for certain policy-influencing positions.
- Made it easier to remove employees for misconduct, poor performance, corruption, or subversion of lawful presidential directives.
The White House estimates that approximately 50,000 policy-influencing jobs could eventually be placed under the new classification.
The administration says employees would still be hired on merit and could not be subjected to political loyalty tests, but would be more accountable for refusing to implement lawful policies.
Opponents call these actions political purges and attacks on professional expertise.
Fired FBI and intelligence employees have filed lawsuits alleging retaliation and denial of due process.
Courts have blocked some dismissals, including those of intelligence officers previously assigned to DEI positions.
Arctic Frost illustrates the central warning of my book, The Deep State: 15 Surprising Dangers You Should Know.
The greatest threat to representative government does not always announce itself.
It often operates behind official titles, secret subpoenas, sealed proceedings, classified documents, internal procedures, and claims that everyone was merely “following policy.”
No single bureaucrat needs to control the whole operation.
One official opens an investigation.
Another approves an aggressive legal theory.
Another seeks a gag order.
Another obtains private records.
A corporation complies without resistance.
Congress receives an incomplete answer.
The media dismisses legitimate questions as conspiracy theories.
And years later, the American people finally learn the truth about what their government did.
That is how constitutional boundaries are eroded without a single public vote.
Senator Hagerty is right to demand answers from Verizon.
Senator Grassley is right to expose the breadth of Arctic Frost.
And President Trump is right that executive-branch officials must be accountable to the Constitution, the law, and the elected government—not to an ideological agenda of their own.
The objective must not be revenge.
It must be exposure, accountability, reform, and prevention.
Because if politically driven officials can secretly obtain the records of United States senators without meaningful resistance, every American should ask one chilling question:
Who will protect the rest of us?
What do you think? Email me at [email protected].
Action:
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FAQs:
Q: What was Arctic Frost?
A: Arctic Frost was an FBI investigation opened in 2022 concerning challenges to the 2020 presidential election and the certification of the Electoral College vote. It was later incorporated into Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation of President Donald Trump. Senate investigators say its reach eventually extended to hundreds of Republican and conservative individuals and organizations.
Q: How many people and organizations were targeted?
A: Senate Judiciary Committee disclosures indicate that Arctic Frost issued 197 subpoenas seeking information related to more than 400 Republican and conservative individuals and organizations. These included members of Congress, political organizations, Trump advisers, attorneys, and advocacy groups.
Q: Which members of Congress reportedly had their telephone records targeted?
A: Disclosures have identified Republican lawmakers including Senators Bill Hagerty, Marsha Blackburn, Lindsey Graham, Josh Hawley, Ron Johnson, Tommy Tuberville, Cynthia Lummis, Dan Sullivan, and Ted Cruz, as well as other present or former members of Congress.
Q: Did investigators listen to Senator Hagerty’s telephone calls?
A: The available evidence does not establish that investigators recorded or listened to Hagerty’s calls. Verizon reportedly provided telephone toll records or metadata, which can include numbers contacted, dates, times, call duration, and related subscriber information. That data can still create a revealing map of a person’s contacts and activities.
Q: Were lawmakers’ text messages also obtained?
A: According to Senator Chuck Grassley, Smith’s investigative team separately obtained text messages involving 44 members of Congress. That disclosure is related to the broader Arctic Frost investigation but should not be confused with Verizon’s production of Hagerty’s telephone metadata.
Q: Why could the subpoenas violate the Constitution?
A: Republican lawmakers argue that the subpoenas intruded upon legislative communications protected by the Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause. Internal Justice Department communications acknowledged litigation risks involving those protections. Smith and his defenders maintain that the subpoenas were lawful, limited, and approved through established procedures.
Q: Why is Verizon facing especially serious questions?
A: Verizon complied with subpoenas involving Republican lawmakers, while AT&T questioned the legal basis for a similar request involving Senator Cruz. Verizon also failed to identify certain Arctic Frost subpoenas when Congress later requested information about federal demands involving Senate telephone lines.
Q: How has Verizon explained its conduct?
A: Verizon has said the subpoenas appeared facially valid, contained telephone numbers without necessarily identifying their owners, and were accompanied by court-approved nondisclosure orders. The company attributed its later failure to disclose the Arctic Frost requests to Congress to “human error” and says it has introduced stronger review procedures.
Q: What legal action has Senator Hagerty taken?
A: Hagerty filed a formal complaint with the Federal Communications Commission. He alleges that Verizon violated federal privacy law and failed to take reasonable measures to protect his customer information. He has requested an apology, internal discipline, relevant documents, policy changes, and FCC intervention if Verizon does not act.
Q: What does the Verizon-Frontier acquisition have to do with the controversy?
A: Hagerty has questioned whether Verizon provided complete and truthful information while seeking federal approval for its approximately $20 billion acquisition of Frontier Communications. This raises a legitimate issue for regulatory investigation, but the publicly available evidence does not by itself prove a quid pro quo between Verizon and the Biden administration.
Q: What is the deep state?
A: The deep state is not necessarily a single, centrally directed conspiracy. It describes ideologically driven bureaucrats, prosecutors, intelligence personnel, regulators, and allied institutions that use permanent government power to advance political or ideological objectives outside meaningful accountability to voters.
Q: Are all federal employees part of the deep state?
A: No. Most federal employees are not part of the deep state, and many perform essential duties honorably. The danger comes from a politically motivated minority occupying positions with enough authority to initiate investigations, obstruct lawful policies, conceal information, selectively enforce rules, or target political opponents.
Q: How large is the federal bureaucracy?
A: The exact number depends on which categories are counted. Available government data indicate that the federal civilian workforce numbers roughly two million employees, excluding some postal, intelligence, legislative, military, and other categories. Although the Trump administration has substantially reduced staffing, the federal bureaucracy remains enormous.
Q: Is bureaucratic resistance to President Trump continuing?
A: The administration says resistance remains a problem, especially in policy-influencing, law-enforcement, and intelligence positions. Personnel actions at the FBI, CIA, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and other agencies have produced lawsuits and political controversy. Not every disagreement or lawsuit proves ideological sabotage, but career officials have no constitutional authority to obstruct lawful presidential directives merely because they oppose them.
Q: What reforms could prevent another Arctic Frost?
A: Congress could require enhanced judicial review for politically sensitive subpoenas, impose stricter limits on nondisclosure orders, protect legitimate whistleblowers, require notification when legislative privileges are implicated, strengthen corporate review of government data demands, and establish penalties for officials who mislead courts or Congress.
Q: How does this controversy relate to Craig Huey’s book The Deep State?
A: Arctic Frost reflects the book’s central warning: unelected officials can use investigations, subpoenas, surveillance tools, regulations, secrecy orders, and bureaucratic procedures to accomplish political objectives largely outside public view. The answer is exposure, constitutional accountability, and permanent reform—not partisan retaliation.
About Craig Huey:
Craig Huey is a nationally recognized author, speaker, and publisher of The Huey Alert and Direct Marketing Update. He is also the author of The Great Deception: 10 Shocking Dangers and the Blueprint for Rescuing the American Dream, exposing the lies of socialism and defending America’s founding principles. Craig appears on national media such as FOX, FOX Business, Newsmax and more. He also co-hosts The Huey Alert Podcast with his wife Shelly and helps business leaders, Christians, conservatives, libertarians, young people and more understand the intersection of faith, politics, and freedom.