'Diseased Temple': FBI boss reveals criminal investigation into feds who ran Arctic Frost probe

FBI Director Kash Patel says there is an ongoing criminal investigation into federal personnel involved in the controversial Biden-era "Arctic Frost" probe that targeted scores of President Donald Trump's allies and gathered the phone records of many members of Congress. "I'm not going to let people get off the hook or get a hall pass," Patel told Just the News.

Patel revealed the existence of the probe during a wide-ranging interview on the Just the News, No Noise television show Thursday night, where he also discussed the bureau's success in solving the case of the nearly five-year-old pipe bombs planted near the U.S. Capitol before the Jan. 6, 2021 riots as well as his sweeping reforms inside the bureau.

Ending political abuse

He insisted the FBI has been changed significantly to end political abuses of investigative powers and to refocus on solving crimes and stopping new terror threats like drones. And he credited the Justice Department, led by Attorney General Pam Bondi, for pursuing prosecution of those abuses.

"It takes a little time to break down the diseased temple that they built here in Washington for decades. But I harp on the fact that this investigation should show the world how we are going to operate in every single investigation," Patel said, referring to the pipe bomb case where fresh agents were brought in to solve a languishing mystery.

"Arctic Frost specifically, we have a huge investigation going on that is public," he added. "I can say that, and it's going to take a little more time to peel it back. But no, I'm not going to let people get off the hook or get a hall pass. I don't care what position you held in the FBI, you're going to be held accountable, and this DOJ is assuredly backing us."

Patel's acknowledgment of a probe into the Artic Frost case comes as the House Judiciary Committee formally subpoenaed ex-Special Counsel Jack Smith for testimony on the probe he ran, and several members of Congress — including Sens. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina — consider suing the Biden-era DOJ for seizing their phone records.

James Boasberg, the federal district court judge who helped Smith and the Arctic Frost investigation obtain those phone records despite concerns about the Constitution's separation of powers clause, and about his past associations, has so far refused to give testimony to Congress about his role in the controversy,

Targeted almost 400 conservative figures

Arctic Frost was the code-name for the FBI criminal probe that was opened in April 2022, about a month after Trump announced his intention to run again for the White House in 2024. It purportedly sought to treat Trump allies who sought to arrange alternate electors for the Senate to contest the 2020 election results as engaging in a criminal conspiracy.

But that probe has been widely criticized by Republicans, who noted it was timed to Trump's re-election announcement, broadly targeted almost 400 conservative figures and groups and collected the phone records of at least a dozen lawmakers.

Patel said holding agents, analysts and lawyers responsible for using Arctic Frost, the Russia collusion hoax or the raid on Mar-a-Lago to target President Joe Biden's main GOP nemesis was an important part of changing the culture of the bureau.

"It takes time to put the change in that the people wanted," he explained. "Russiagate is a reality. It happened. Arctic Frost is a reality. It happened. The unlawful raid at Mar-a-Lago is a reality. It happened.

"That wasn't driven by one person, but multiple people in leadership positions and generations of institutionalization in the swamp thinking that type of ethos and law enforcement is OK," he added.

FBI stonewalling for years, "weaponizing government"

Patel said another key culture change was providing Congress with evidence it wanted about FBI misconduct after years of stonewalling.

"We've issued 40,000 pages to Congress this year alone. Comey did 3,000 in three years. Ray did 13,000 in seven years," he explained. "So we are committed to transparency. But what's unique about this FBI is we are running investigations while providing what we can.

"So on the Arctic Frost front, we discovered at this FBI that they were unlawfully surveilling senators and guys like me and weaponizing government," he added. "So this pipe bomb investigation should show the American public that while providing information on the pipe bomb over the last eight years and protecting the integrity of our investigation, we can get to the end point we want: accountability and transparency."