The Arctic Frost Trifecta: Smith, Boasberg and Howell

Four Investigations, Nine Years, One Target

Mar 25, 2026

Recently declassified documents by Senators Grassley, Johnson and Cruz reveal even more malfeasance by the so-called Special Prosecutor Jack Smith under the guise of the January 6th probe.

A grand Renaissance oil painting in the style of Raphael's "School of Athens," depicting the interior of a vast marble hall of justice with soaring classical columns and a coffered dome open to dramatic chiaroscuro skies. At the center, a lone robed prosecutor figure stands at a massive stone table overflowing with thousands of unfurled parchment scrolls and waxsealed subpoenas that cascade onto the floor and stretch to the edges of the composition. Behind him, rows of shadowy clerks in dark robes feed documents into an enormous bronze scalesofjustice mechanism that tilts ominously to one side. To the left, a group of startled senators in Roman togas recoil as hooded agents rifle through their private correspondence, some scrolls glowing with a faint golden light symbolizing protected speech. To the right, a woman in a dignified blue gown speaks privately with her counsel behind a translucent veil, while a hidden figure in the shadows holds a brass ear trumpet to the veil, secretly listening. In the foreground, a kneeling citizen in simple clothes has his arms outstretched as invisible hands pull threads of personal information — letters, coins, ledger books — from his pockets into a swirling vortex above the prosecutor's table. Three judges sit elevated on marble thrones in the background, faces partially obscured by shadow, stamping documents with large red seals without looking down. Through the open dome, a stormy sky parts to reveal a faint distant light of a republic's ideals — a small shining city on a hill — barely visible through the gathering clouds. Rich Venetian color palette of deep crimsons, ultramarine blues, and gold leaf accents. Cinematic 16:9 composition, hyperdetailed, museum quality, oil on canvas texture with visible brushstrokes. small subtle but visible watermark reading @directorblue X icon Substack icon Thanks.png

Jack Smith has been accused of overreach before. The new documents only reinforce the notion that his entire investigation was nothing but a political assassination attempt against Donald Trump, his advisers and his supporters. The new allegations are stunning.

The Abuse of Kash Patel

Smith issued two separate Verizon subpoenas covering about 2 years of Patel’s records (Nov 2022 and Feb 2023). This data included addresses, call/text metadata, payment information (credit card/bank account numbers), IP addresses, subscriber names, etc.

At the time, Patel was a private citizen with zero — no, nada, zilch — criminal charges pending against him.

Further, Smith obtained nondisclosure orders (NDOs) obtained from judges — more on the judges below — preventing Patel and others from learning about the subpoenas. The justifications: flight risk, evidence tampering, witness intimidation, jeopardy to the investigation. There were no grounds to believe a private citizen like Patel — who was publicly known and not a flight risk — would destroy evidence or flee.

The Abuse of Congress

Smith’s team subpoenaed toll records of sitting members of Congress (Reps. Biggs, Brooks; Sens. Lee, Hagerty, and others). And internal emails confirm Smith’s team knew these members had valid Speech or Debate Clause protections (Article I, Section 6):

“Before we tell Main [Justice], we’re going to fire off subpoenas for so many members tolls I should make sure Jack’s aware”
And “unlikely that many of those members will cooperate” and that they “likely have a valid Speech or Debate privilege immunizing them from compelled testimony”

The Speech or Debate Clause protects legislators from being “questioned in any other Place” about their legislative acts. Issuing subpoenas for communications that the team itself recognized were likely privileged is a serious allegation. Under DOJ’s own internal policies (the Justice Manual, formerly the U.S. Attorneys’ Manual), there are heightened approval requirements for subpoenas targeting members of Congress. The emails suggest those internal controls were ignored.

False Statements to Congress (18 U.S.C. § 1001)

AG Briefing materials show Smith’s team “went over [the House Jan. 6 Committee report] page by page” and “incorporated it into our investigative plan” and planned to “leverage this to avoid needless interviews”.

But Smith’s Special Counsel Report stated the Jan. 6 Committee materials “comprised a small part of the Office’s investigative record” and facts were “developed or verified through independent investigative steps”

Recording of Attorney-Client Communication (Susie Wiles)

The FBI allegedly recorded a 2023 phone call between Wiles and her lawyer while she was managing Trump’s campaign.

This is potentially the most legally serious allegation. Recording an attorney-client privileged communication is an extraordinary step that, under DOJ policy, requires high-level approval and a showing that the communication falls outside the privilege (e.g., crime-fraud exception).

If the FBI falsely represented to a court that consent existed, that could constitute fraud on the court, a potential Bivens violation, and possibly criminal conduct under federal wiretapping statutes (18 U.S.C. §§ 2510-2522). Attorney-client privilege is foundational to the adversarial system, and breaching it — especially during an active presidential campaign — would be an extraordinary abuse.

The Vast Scale of the Investigation

There were nearly 200 subpoenas targeting 400+ Republican personalities and groups. Around 100,000 private communications were swept up.

There were four consecutive Trump-related investigations (Crossfire Hurricane, Round River, Plasmic Echo, Arctic Frost) spanning 2016-2025.

In essence, the Democrat-led DC “Justice” machine appears to have criminalized being a Republican.

The Judicial Oligarchy: Boasberg, Howell and Company

As for the Judges, all Obama-era appointees, Jeff Childers phrased it this way:

One internal DOJ email unearthed by Senator Grassley’s subcommittee said, “before we tell Main (as in main Justice), we’re going to fire off subpoenas for so many members (of Congress) that I should make sure Jack’s aware.” In other words, the conspirators recorded in an email that they were going to subpoena Congress before asking their supervisors. Ask forgiveness, not permission.
Another memo found by the subcommittee concluded that it would be unconstitutional to surveill Senators because they were protected by the “Speech and Debate Clause.” They issued the subpoenas anyway.
But perhaps the ugliest details were notes about coordination between Prosecutor Smith and the judges before the subpoenas were issued. “She liked our approach of pursuing the executive privilege litigation in an omnibus fashion,” one agent’s notes recalled, referring to Chief Judge Howell. Another noted, “Chief judge knows it is coming and loves the idea.”
I don’t know who needs to hear this, but a lawyer’s job is much easier if the judges tell you privately, ahead of time, what to put in the motion, and which ideas of yours they “love.” It sort of collapses the whole judicial system into a single easy step. It’s teamwork!

Chief Judge Beryl Howell (D.C. District, Obama appointee) granted NDOs for the Patel subpoenas, and held meetings with Smith’s team.

Chief Judge James Boasberg (D.C. District, Obama appointee) has a long and sordid history of decision-making whenever Trump or MAGA is involved. The Federalist described Boasberg as “giving Smith’s team the greenlight to spy on GOP members of Congress.”

Cruz stated that the judges involved should be “investigated, tried, impeached, and brought to justice.”

Overall Summary

This is pretty terrifying stuff.

The Wiles attorney-client recording — If the FBI falsified consent to record a privileged call during an active presidential campaign, it’s criminal conduct and among the most serious abuses of investigative power imaginable in American history.
The Speech or Debate Clause issue — Internal emails showing the team knew members likely had valid privilege but proceeded anyway is damning. This isn’t ambiguous legal territory — DOJ has established policies precisely to prevent this kind of overreach.
The sheer scope — 200 subpoenas, 400+ targets, 100,000 communications, with minimal criminal output, suggests the investigation may have been disproportionate to its legitimate objectives.

If the House of Representative fails to act now, Republicans have only themselves to blame when they’re the ones illegally targeted, charged, bankrupted and imprisoned.

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