Key Takeaways
- •Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile confirmed receiving Jack Smith's subpoenas for congressional phone records, with Verizon admitting process failures and announcing new notification procedures.
- •David McAtee (AT&T) stated his company questioned a subpoena for Senator Cruz's (R-TX) campaign records, leading the Special Counsel to abandon the request.
- •Senator Hawley (R-MO) pressed Chris Miller (Verizon) on why Verizon failed to identify and protect congressional members' phone records, unlike AT&T.
- •Republicans condemned Jack Smith's subpoenas as a "weaponized witch hunt" targeting conservatives, while Democrats defended the investigation as legitimate.
- •The committee plans further "Arctic Frost" hearings, with telecom companies implementing new protocols to notify members of Congress about future subpoenas.
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Hearing Analysis
Overview
The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Border Security and Immigration held a hearing on February 10, 2026, to examine the "Arctic Frost" investigation led by former Special Counsel Jack Smith. The hearing specifically focused on the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) use of subpoenas to obtain the phone records of sitting members of Congress, conservative organizations, and media outlets. Chair Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) opened the session by characterizing the investigation as a "weaponized witch hunt" and a "Russian playbook" tactic intended to target President Donald Trump and his supporters. She emphasized that the committee intended to document the facts of the investigation as a form of discovery, specifically questioning why wireless carriers complied with secret subpoenas and non-disclosure orders (NDOs) that bypassed constitutional protections.
Key Testimony
The hearing featured testimony from top legal executives at the nation’s three largest wireless carriers: Chris Miller, Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Verizon Consumer Group; Mark W. Nelson, Executive Vice President and General Counsel of T-Mobile; and David R. McAtee II, Senior Executive Vice President and General Counsel of AT&T. Additionally, the subcommittee heard from Michael J. Romano, a former DOJ prosecutor involved in January 6 cases, and Dan A. Schwager, a former General Counsel to the Secretary of the Senate.
A central point of contention was the distinction between "toll records"—which show call logs, durations, and timestamps—and the actual content of communications. Mr. Romano and Mr. Schwager testified that toll records are routine investigative tools that do not include the content of calls or texts. They argued that the NDOs issued by Judge James Boasberg were standard procedure to prevent the destruction of evidence or witness intimidation, particularly given the gravity of the January 6 Capitol attack. Mr. Romano defended the investigation as "righteous," asserting that the Special Counsel followed DOJ policy to investigate a criminal scheme to overturn the 2020 election.
Overview
In contrast, Republican members, led by Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), argued that the subpoenas violated the Speech or Debate Clause of the Constitution, which provides a documentary non-disclosure privilege to members of Congress. Sen. Grassley revealed that the investigation had targeted over 400 Republican organizations and individuals, including groups like Turning Point USA and the Republican National Committee. He criticized the "deceitful conduct" of the Special Counsel’s team for seeking NDOs that prevented members of Congress from intervening or challenging the subpoenas in court.
Key Testimony
The testimony from the wireless carriers revealed varying levels of resistance to the DOJ’s demands. Mr. McAtee of AT&T testified that his company’s legal team flagged a subpoena related to the campaign account of Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX). AT&T questioned the Special Counsel’s office regarding the constitutional implications of the Speech or Debate Clause, after which the DOJ reportedly abandoned the request. However, Mr. Miller of Verizon and Mr. Nelson of T-Mobile admitted their companies complied with subpoenas for several members' lines because their internal systems at the time did not automatically identify phone numbers as belonging to members of Congress. Mr. Miller acknowledged that Verizon "could have done better" and has since implemented new protocols to notify the Senate Sergeant at Arms and challenge NDOs involving congressional records.
The partisan divide was stark throughout the proceedings. Democrats, including Senator Richard J. Durbin (D-IL) and Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), defended Jack Smith’s actions, noting that the Special Counsel had already testified before the House and was willing to appear before the Senate. They argued that the investigation was a necessary response to the "Big Lie" and the violence of January 6. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) introduced a 2024 Inspector General report into the record, noting that the Trump-era DOJ had similarly subpoenaed Democratic members of Congress in 2018, suggesting that the use of NDOs and toll records was not unprecedented.
Organizations & Entities
Notable exchanges occurred during the questioning of the Verizon representative. Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) delivered a scathing critique of Mr. Miller, accusing Verizon of failing to honor its multi-million dollar contract with the Senate, which requires notification of legal process involving Senate devices. Sen. Hawley called the company’s failure to protect subscriber privacy "a disgrace" and "chilling." Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) also confronted Mr. Miller, questioning his legal competence and criticizing Verizon’s corporate policies on diversity and inclusion, which the Senator characterized as illegal quotas.
Overview
The hearing also touched on broader concerns regarding executive branch overreach. Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Senator Adam B. Schiff (D-CA) focused on the ongoing threats to democracy, with Sen. Schiff suggesting the committee subpoena "Volume Two" of the Special Counsel’s report to understand the specific evidence of obstruction that justified the NDOs. Meanwhile, Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) described the secret subpoenas as a "hit and run" on constitutional rights, where victims are unaware they have been targeted until years later.
As the hearing concluded, Chair Blackburn and Chairman Grassley indicated that this was only the first in a series of hearings regarding the Arctic Frost investigation. The committee requested additional documentation from the carriers regarding the total number of members of Congress targeted. The witnesses from Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile committed to working with the Senate Sergeant at Arms to refine notification protocols for both official and personal lines to prevent future undisclosed seizures of congressional data. No specific follow-up deadlines were set, but the Republican leadership made it clear they intend to call Jack Smith to testify under oath in future sessions.
Transcript
...Judiciary Committee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law will now come to order. And today, we will be holding the first in what will be a series of Judiciary Committee hearings examining the corrupt Arctic Frost investigation that targeted President Trump, duly elected members of Congress, and thousands of conservatives across the country. These hearings will serve as a form of discovery for the committee as we continue to document and enter into the record all the facts surrounding the Arctic Frost witch hunt. And let me be clear, we need Jack Smith before us under oath so he can answer for his actions in this targeted, weaponized witch hunt. We are ultimately here this morning because Jack Smith violated his oath of office. He trampled on Americans' rights that are enshrined in the Constitution, all for one reason: to go after President Donald Trump and conservatives across this great nation. With the Biden DOJ's approval, Jack Smith issued 197 subpoenas to over 430 conservative organizations and individuals. That was the length that he went to to go after President Trump. Jack Smith took a page out of the old Russian playbook by saying, "Give me the man, and I will give you the case against him." In this case, the man was President Trump and hundreds of conservative Americans who supported him. Luckily, we now have a commander in chief in the White House in President Trump who is working every day to root out the two-tiered system of justice implemented under Joe Biden that allowed this political witch hunt that targeted conservatives. Chairman Grassley began his work to uncover the atrocities of this Arctic Frost investigation in 2022. And thanks to brave whistleblowers that have come forward, we have learned a lot. We know that just days after President Trump announced his 2024 campaign, Jack Smith was named special counsel. We know that Jack Smith was determined to persecute President Trump and hundreds of conservatives across America who support him. And relevant to our hearing today, we know that Jack Smith secretly subpoenaed the phone records of sitting U.S. senators and congressmen. Five members of this committee, Senators Graham, Lee, Cruz, Hawley, and I, had our phone records subpoenaed by Jack Smith, in addition to several other senators and members of the House. But Jack Smith didn't stop there. He also made sure that we didn't find out about this deep invasion of our privacy, ensuring that an Obama appointee, Judge James Boasberg, signed non-disclosure orders that were attached to the subpoenas and had no basis in fact. His basis for the gag orders: that sitting members of Congress would, and I quote directly from him, "result in destruction of evidence, intimidation of potential witnesses, and serious jeopardy to the investigation." End quote. Think about that. Sitting members of Congress. And that is what he thought. Additionally, we know that Jack Smith's corrupt team of prosecutors consulted with the Biden DOJ Public Integrity Section and concluded essentially that while there was some litigation risk related to the Speech and Debate Clause, they could go ahead with the subpoenas regardless because the affected members of Congress would never find out about this invasion of privacy and violation of constitutional rights. So, they thought they could hide it and we would never know. Well, thanks to brave whistleblowers and Chairman Grassley's unflinching investigative work, we found out about the subpoenas, and that is why we're holding the hearing today. This morning, we'll examine how each of these wireless carriers, Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile, responded to Jack Smith's unlawful, illegal subpoenas. Specifically, we'll look at the fact that Verizon and T-Mobile complied with Jack Smith's May 2023 subpoenas, no questions asked. We'll also hear from AT&T, who in the case of Senator Cruz, did raise Speech and Debate Clause concerns and pushed back against Jack Smith's demands, despite previously producing the phone records of Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Congressman Chip Roy. It's critical that each of these carriers go on the record about the decisions that they made and why or why not they enabled and worked with Jack Smith's weaponization of government. I'll close with this: if this kind of invasion of privacy can happen to sitting members of Congress and even the president of the United States, it can and probably will happen to all Americans unless we stop it right here. This was the worst weaponization of government in American history, and I'm determined to ensure that Jack Smith is held accountable to prevent another Arctic Frost from happening again. The American people deserve nothing less. And now, I'll turn to the chairman of the full committee, Senator Durbin, for his opening.
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