FBI Director Kash Patel says a group of agents who ran the controversial Arctic Frost operation and supported former special counsel Jack Smith have been fired and removed from their jobs. The decision came after President Donald Trump publicly demanded action against what he called a politically motivated attack on his allies.
Patel confirmed the dismissals in a direct reply to Trump on Truth Social.
“Under your leadership, this FBI found the corrupt actors and terminated their employment last year. America voted for the end of weaponized law enforcement, and that is what we are delivering,” Patel wrote.
From Patel’s perspective and that of many Republicans, these firings mark the end of a chapter where the FBI was used as a political weapon against Trump and his supporters.
Arctic Frost, Not an Investigation, a Politically Motivated Attack
Arctic Frost was a wide FBI investigation launched after the 2020 election. It looked at more than 160 Republican figures for possible election related crimes.
According to documents released by the House Judiciary Committee, the operation was much larger than first reported. It identified 45 people closely tied to Trump and another 111 people in his wider political circle for possible investigation.
Those listed included Steve Bannon, Rudy Giuliani, Mark Meadows, John Eastman, Jeffrey Clark, and Rep. Scott Perry. It also targeted conservative organizations such as Turning Point USA, according to Sen. Chuck Grassley.
The probe was coordinated in part by FBI Special Agent Timothy Thibault, who later resigned after his partisan social media activity came under scrutiny.
House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan said the records showed the probe went deep into Trump’s political network just as he was preparing for the 2024 election.
How Arctic Frost Fed Jack Smith’s Case
The Judiciary Committee also found that Arctic Frost was tied directly to the broader elector case run by former special counsel Jack Smith. Lawmakers released 198 documents showing how federal law enforcement built a wide net around Trump’s allies.
One of the most explosive revelations was that agents working under Arctic Frost and a special FBI unit called CR-15 monitored the phone toll records of Republican members of Congress.
According to documents obtained by Fox News, nearly a dozen GOP senators had their communications analyzed. That list included Josh Hawley, Lindsey Graham, Ron Johnson, Marsha Blackburn, Cynthia Lummis, Bill Hagerty, Dan Sullivan, and Tommy Tuberville. Rep. Mike Kelly was also included.
The records showed which numbers these lawmakers called, where the calls started, and where they were received. This was done under the Arctic Frost case name and carried the label Election Law Matters and Sensitive Investigative Matter.
To Republicans, this looked like the FBI was spying on elected officials with no evidence of wrongdoing.
Weaponization at its Corrupt Worst
Trump became furious after reports showed that an FBI supervisor who had attacked him online helped push Arctic Frost forward. That supervisor even argued that Trump should be made an official target of the probe and used articles from liberal activist groups and left leaning media to justify the investigation.
Trump reacted on Truth Social, writing, “These FBI Agents are total Scum … Kash better get them out, NOW!” He also called them “Radical Left Lunatics” left behind by Democrat administrations.
When Fox News revealed that Jack Smith’s team had tracked the private communications of GOP lawmakers, Trump went even further.
“Deranged Jack Smith got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. A real sleazebag!!!” he wrote.
From Trump’s point of view, this was never about justice. It was about finding something, anything, to nail Trump and the people around him.
After the toll record monitoring became public, Patel moved quickly.
He shut down CR-15, the FBI’s Washington Field Office public corruption unit that had helped Jack Smith. He also fired multiple agents tied to Arctic Frost and the phone record subpoenas.
“You’re darn right I fired those agents. You’re darn right I blew up CR-15, the public corruption squad, that led the weaponization at the Washington Field Office,” Patel said on Fox News.
On X, Patel added, “They tracked the communications of GOP Senators. They weaponized law enforcement against the American people. That era is over. We fired those who acted unethically, dismantled the corrupt CR-15 squad, and launched an investigation. Transparency and accountability are not slogans, they are promises kept.”
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino backed him up, saying, “We promised you transparency and accountability. We will continue to deliver on those promises. You deserve better.”
NBC News later confirmed that at least two agents were fired and a third faced personnel action. One of those fired was a combat veteran who was called back into the office after leaving for the day and told he was dismissed.
Trump and Patel See the Bigger Picture
To Patel, this was about cleaning out a system that had gone rotten.
“We are cleaning up a diseased temple three decades in the making, identifying the rot, removing those who weaponized law enforcement for political purposes and those who do not meet the standards of this mission while restoring integrity to the FBI,” he said.
Trump sees the firings the same way. He believes Arctic Frost and Jack Smith’s work were built to target him and his allies without real evidence or probable cause. In his view, the FBI and Justice Department were turned into tools of political warfare.
From this perspective, the agents who pushed Arctic Frost and supported Jack Smith were not just doing their jobs. They were abusing their power to go after Trump’s political network.
Now, with those agents fired and their unit dismantled, Patel and Trump say the era of weaponized law enforcement is finally coming to an end.
