FBI Disbands Controversial Unit Tracking Senators
On Tuesday, FBI Director Kash Patel announced the dissolution of a team previously responsible for monitoring the phone communications of U.S. senators during the Biden administration.
“They tracked the communications of GOP senators. They weaponized law enforcement against the American people. Those days are over,” he mentioned on a social media platform.
Patel further emphasized, “We dismantled a corrupt CR-15 team that acted unethically and launched an investigation. Transparency and accountability are not just slogans; they are promises.”
The CR-15 unit had been one of three federal public corruption units that were absent from the FBI’s Washington Field Office. This team played a significant role in the FBI’s “Arctic Frost” investigation, which addresses allegations of interference in the 2020 election.
The Arctic Frost Probe started in April 2022 and was later taken over by former special adviser Jack Smith. The investigation focused on actions taken by President Trump and his allies to challenge the election results, including the proposition of an alternate set of electors.
Documents released previously indicate that CR-15 agents were involved in the investigation and subsequent arrest of White House aide Peter Navarro in 2022. They also acquired two phones from Biden administration officials that belonged to Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence that same year.
According to NBC News, the Washington Field Office reportedly shut down the CR-15 team in May, with agents being reassigned as part of a larger reorganization effort.
Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) disclosed on Monday that several senators and one congressman were targeted during the FBI’s probe into election interference.
The FBI’s Arctic Frost investigation originated in 2022 under President Biden’s administration.
Patel’s announcement follows Grassley’s release of an FBI document from September 2023, which noted that the bureau had performed a “preliminary toll analysis of the limited toll records” of eight sitting senators.
While the exact motivations for monitoring these senators remain unclear, several have been accused of potential espionage by their colleagues.
The document’s case ID references “Arctic Frost – Election Law Issues – Sensitive Research Issues – Cast.”
It appears that the FBI was collecting records of lawmakers’ phone calls rather than actually tapping into their phones.
“If the heads don’t roll in this town, nothing changes,” Grassley stated on Monday.
