Columbia News

Senator Eric Schmitt, a U.S. Senator from Missouri, made several claims on September 18, 2025 regarding the FBI's "Operation Arctic Frost" and its evolution into the Jack Smith special counsel investigation.

In his first post, Schmitt wrote: "Arctic Frost quickly ballooned into a Soviet 'show me the man, I'll show you the crime' fishing expedition against the entire political Right—issuing over 400 subpoenas targeting 92 conservative groups/actors. It later morphed into the Jack Smith special counsel investigation." (September 18, 2025).

In a subsequent tweet posted at the same time, he stated: "The FBI's 'Operation Arctic Frost' was launched in 2022, under the pretenses of investigating the Trump campaign and its conservative allies. It was led by Tim Thibault—an FBI agent who was later forced to resign for his partisan corruption." (September 18, 2025).

A third post quoted another senator: "As Senator Grassley put it, Arctic Frost was 'the vehicle by which partisan FBI agents and Department of Justice prosecutors could achieve their partisan ends and improperly investigate the entire Republican political apparatus.'" (September 18, 2025).

According to public records and previous reporting, Operation Arctic Frost refers to an FBI initiative that began in early 2022 with an initial focus on alleged activities surrounding former President Donald Trump's campaign. The operation came under scrutiny after allegations surfaced about possible bias among certain officials involved. Tim Thibault’s resignation from the FBI followed internal investigations related to accusations of partisanship; however, no criminal charges were filed against him.

The subsequent appointment of Jack Smith as special counsel marked a new phase in federal inquiries involving high-profile political figures and organizations associated with former President Trump. These developments have continued to generate debate over investigative practices within federal law enforcement agencies.