Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, stated Wednesday that a congressional review linked to the “Arctic Frost” investigation is uncovering activities far exceeding initial expectations.
The probe, which focuses on alleged efforts by Trump allies to challenge the 2020 election results, has revealed the collection of phone records from individuals in Washington with Republican Party ties.
Jordan said his “initial takeaway is it’s always worse than we thought,” arguing that the scope of the records obtained extends well beyond a small number of individuals.
“It wasn’t just a couple of people that they went and got the phone records for,” he added. “It was pretty much everybody in D.C. who was somehow connected to the Republican Party, including a number of members of Congress itself.”
The review potentially examined roughly 160 Republican-affiliated individuals. Among those scrutinized are prominent Trump associates, including White House deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino and senior trade adviser Peter Navarro.
Jordan, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, said lawmakers have referred several individuals to the Justice Department as part of their review. One referral involves Thomas Wyndham, a prosecutor who worked under special counsel Jack Smith and was also connected to the Arctic Frost matter. “We referred Mr. Wyndham … to the Justice Department for obstructing our investigation,” Jordan stated.
The committee also referred former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, alleging she made false statements during the House committee’s investigation of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. “We’ve referred Cassidy Hutchinson, who we think lied multiple times to the Jan. 6 committee,” Jordan said, adding that the referral followed a deposition of Smith and a review of Hutchinson’s prior testimony.
Jordan criticized the handling of witness considerations in the special counsel’s investigation, saying he was concerned that Hutchinson could have been used as a witness in a potential prosecution. “Still the fact that he was looking at using her … as a witness if he ever got to court, which thank goodness he didn’t,” Jordan remarked.
The Ohio Republican also raised constitutional concerns about the collection of phone records from members of Congress, noting the separation of powers between branches. “With Jack Smith and the number of phone records he got from members of Congress, a separate and equal branch of government, I think that demonstrates that principle,” Jordan said.
