(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) The House Judiciary Committee is investigating the DOJ’s Office of Inspector General over its involvement in the FBI’s illegal seizure of Rep. Scott Perry’s cellphone in 2022.
The seizure was part of a joint investigation between the OIG and the DOJ under the anti-Trump Arctic Frost operation, which targeted individuals who objected to the 2020 election’s certification. Arctic Frost later served as a precursor to Special Counsel Jack Smith’s probe.
In a letter to Acting Inspector General Don Richard Berthiaume, Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan ordered the OIG on Wednesday to turn over all internal documents related to the seizure of Perry’s cellphone.
At the time, Perry was among the lawmakers targeted for planning to object to the congressional certification of the 2020 election on Jan. 6, 2021. The FBI seized his phone while he was traveling with his family on August 9, 2022.
A federal judge ruled that nearly 400 phone records seized by the FBI were protected by the Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause. However, Perry maintained that over 2,000 of the seized files were privileged.
#NEWS: @Jim_Jordan probes Inspector General’s role in Arctic Frost investigation.
Read here: https://t.co/3zsMOjdLgx pic.twitter.com/1EPilylJdl
— House Judiciary GOP 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@JudiciaryGOP) November 12, 2025
The FBI later returned the device only after making a full copy of its contents. The OIG reportedly assisted the bureau in conducting a forensic review of the phone’s data.
The OIG’s direct role in the seizure raised eyebrows, given that the supposedly independent watchdog is tasked with reviewing the FBI’s work.
“The OIG’s assistance in imaging Representative Perry’s phone raises serious concerns about why the OIG would be willing to sacrifice its independence to assist the FBI in advancing such a partisan investigation,” Jordan wrote.
Jordan is now demanding that the OIG explain its involvement in Arctic Frost and disclose whether it was involved in the seizure of other lawmakers’ phone records.
Perry was one of several members of Congress targeted by the Biden-led FBI. Among those lawmakers were GOP Sens. Marsha Blackburn, Tenn.; Ted Cruz, Texas; Ron Johnson, Wis., Bill Hagerty, Tenn.; Josh Hawley, Mo.
Others included GOP Sens. Cynthia Lummis, Wyo.; Lindsey Graham, S.C.; Dan Sullivan, Alaska, and Tommy Tuberville, Ala.; and Rep. Mike Kelly, Pa.
