Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) blasted the Biden administration’s Operation Arctic Frost during a recent appearance on Fox News, calling the covert surveillance effort an egregious abuse of power that violates multiple constitutional protections.
In an interview with guest host Kellyanne Conway on Hannity, Blackburn revealed she was one of nine U.S. Senators targeted by the Department of Justice as part of the now-uncovered operation. She said the DOJ secretly issued 197 subpoenas on 430 individuals and groups, including senators, conservative organizations, and media figures, under the direction of Special Counsel Jack Smith.
“What we do know,” Blackburn said, “is that Judge James Boasberg, an Obama appointee, signed off on the subpoena for our phone records from January 2021.” She detailed how her phone provider, Verizon, complied without challenge, handing over logs of every call she made or received—including her location at the time of each call. AT&T, she noted, fought the subpoena, citing constitutional protections under the Speech and Debate Clause.
Blackburn condemned the secrecy surrounding the operation. Carriers were hit with nondisclosure orders and forbidden from notifying lawmakers whose data was seized. Boasberg justified the secrecy by claiming a risk of witness intimidation or destruction of evidence—claims Blackburn dismissed as “absurd and ridiculous.”
She warned that the Biden DOJ’s actions are not only unconstitutional but set a terrifying precedent. “This is a blatant violation of the First and Fourth Amendments, the separation of powers, and the Stored Communications Act,” she said. “If they did this to nine sitting senators, what are they doing to average Americans?”
Blackburn traced the origins of Operation Arctic Frost back to an April 2022 memo signed by Attorney General Merrick Garland, prompted by FBI Director Chris Wray. She called on Americans to take the threat of government overreach seriously.
