Overview
- Documents released Nov. 25 by Sens. Chuck Grassley and Ron Johnson detail plans to subpoena toll records for more than eight Republican senators as part of the Arctic Frost probe.
- DOJ Public Integrity Section official John Keller concurred in May 2023 with issuing the subpoenas while warning of litigation risk under the Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause.
- Many requests were shielded by one‑year nondisclosure orders approved by D.C. District Judge James Boasberg, and several targeted members were not told their data was sought.
- Most subpoenas sought non‑content metadata for Jan. 4–7, 2021, while separate subpoenas for Kevin McCarthy and Jim Jordan covered months or years, respectively.
- Internal emails show prosecutors weighed targeting Sens. Mike Lee and John Kennedy, corrected an initial listing of Tim Scott to Rick Scott, and relied in part on prior toll analysis from Rudy Giuliani’s records.