Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, revealed Wednesday that former special counsel Jack Smith and the Biden Justice Department obtained extensive personal information on more than 639,000 individuals, including Republican donors and supporters, during the Arctic Frost investigation.
Read more Daron Acemoglu: A Brilliant Economist With Oddly Unconvincing Ideas
The disclosure suggests federal investigators went beyond their stated mission of examining President Donald Trump’s efforts to challenge the 2020 election results.
According to Grassley’s findings, investigators obtained spreadsheets containing names, birth dates, home addresses, email addresses, political affiliations, employment information, donation histories, credit card information and donor habits.
The records reportedly covered a 16-year period, from 2005 through 2021, which Grassley said extended far beyond the scope of Smith’s investigation.
“This is further evidence that the Special Counsel operation was designed to map out the Republican Party,” Grassley said.
In a memo to the Judiciary Committee, Grassley detailed the extent of the information collected.
“Jack Smith’s SCO and Biden’s Justice Department obtained spreadsheets containing Republican campaign donors, supporters, and detailed personal voter information in various formats, totaling over 639,000 individuals, at minimum,” Grassley wrote.
He added that more than 148,000 spreadsheet entries were identified as donors, most of whom contributed relatively small amounts.
Read more Morning Greatness: DOJ Threatens California With Legal Action Over Election Integrity Issues
The investigation also obtained information about Trump campaign personnel, potentially including volunteers.
In another revelation, investigators acquired records involving sales of red Make America Great Again hats, including customers’ identities, purchases and home shipping addresses.
The findings follow Grassley’s September disclosure that Smith’s team subpoenaed approximately 5,000 checks written by Americans who donated to Trump’s campaign.
Grassley obtained the latest records through congressional subpoenas seeking information about the special counsel’s efforts to collect data on Trump-aligned organizations.
The disclosures intensify Republican concerns that the Biden Justice Department’s investigation extended beyond potential election-related crimes into the political activities of ordinary Americans.
Grassley’s findings establish the breadth of the data obtained, although they do not independently prove that investigators used the information for partisan political purposes.
Read more The ‘Trust and Safety’ Regime Wants Its Power Back
