House Republicans are looking to impeach the federal judge who approved secret subpoenas for the cell phone records of sitting members of Congress, a measure that’s unlikely to go anywhere in the U.S. Senate. The subpoenas, approved by Judge James Boasberg during the Arctic Frost investigation, required telecommunications companies to hand over what’s called tolling data. It shows who the senators called, along with the date, time and location of the conversation.
“He has taken it on his own to be a hyper-partisan judge going after Republicans, signing off on subpoenas that are unlawful, and he signed off on them just to get his political rivals,” Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., said.
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What is Arctic Frost?
Arctic Frost began as an investigation into the fake elector scheme President Donald Trump was accused of orchestrating during the 2020 presidential election. It eventually served as the framework for the criminal case against Donald Trump.
The Arctic Frost investigation was opened in April 2022 by an FBI agent and assigned to Special Counsel Jack Smith in November 2022. Boasberg approved subpoenas for the phone records of sitting United States senators and gag orders prohibiting the cellular companies from informing the lawmakers that their data had been provided.
“They’re using deep state actors, like a Jack Smith, like a Judge Boasberg, to spy and to suppress the political abilities of Republican senators. This is outrageous,” Donalds said.
Which lawmakers were targeted?
The subpoenas targeted the following lawmakers’ cellphone records:
- Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
- Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn.
- Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo.
- Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska.
- Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala.
- Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis.
- Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo.
- Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.
- Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla.
- Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa.
Scott is asking Attorney General Pam Bondi to open an investigation into Arctic Frost. He said the subpoena gag orders may have violated a federal law that prohibits gag orders for subpoenas that target Senate offices.
Who is Judge James Boasberg?
Boasberg is the Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. He has been the target of Republican criticism since March, when he blocked Trump from invoking the Alien Enemies Act to deport accused gang members in the country illegally. Republicans argued that Boasberg overstepped his judicial authority and usurped Trump’s authority as the executive.
Following the ruling, Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, introduced an article of impeachment against Boasberg alleging abuse of power.
“We will not stand by as radical activist Judge James Boasberg tramples on the Constitution out of political spite for the President,” Gill said at the time. “The American people gave us a mandate to get criminal illegal aliens out of our country, and that’s exactly what we intend to do.”
Straight Arrow News reached out to Gill’s office for an update on the articles of impeachment, and we have not yet heard back.
Another impeachment effort
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., is calling on the House to hold a series of public impeachment hearings. Johnson acknowledged that if the House impeaches Boasberg, he would not be convicted in the Senate and removed from office because Republicans don’t have enough votes in that chamber.
“The most important thing here is not necessarily the verdict. The most important thing is exposing exactly what happened, and a House hearing and Senate hearings would be a really good way of doing that,” Johnson said.
Jack Smith’s reaction
Special Counsel Jack Smith indicted Donald Trump twice. Smith charged Trump with mishandling classified material and trying to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Those cases never went to trial because the classified documents case was thrown out, and the election case couldn’t get to trial before Trump won reelection.
According to a report in The New York Times, Smith is prepared to fight back if he’s indicted or targeted by Trump’s Department of Justice. The report states that Smith welcomes the opportunity to present the evidence he collected against Trump in a public courtroom because he never had the chance to do so after the indictments.
