WASHINGTON — Former special counsel Jack Smith obtained draft fundraising emails and donor information from hundreds of President Trump’s supporters following the 2020 election, according to documents obtained by The Post.
The records show that Smith was hoovering up details about potential donors to the Trump Make America Great Again Committee (TMAGAC) by obtaining draft fundraising appeals in which Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) asked for his supporters to contribute as “2020 Election Day Donors.”
Smith’s team obtained the materials as part of the FBI’s “Arctic Frost” probe into Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election, an effort that culminated in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
Cruz, one of a handful of GOP senators who refused to certify that year’s electoral count for Democrat Joe Biden, told The Post that Smith’s team swept up personal information of up to 336 Texans for nothing more than “exercising their constitutional right to participate in the political process.”
“Arctic Frost represents the most egregious abuse of power in the history of the Department of Justice,” Cruz said. “We still do not know the full extent of these and related violations, but we do know that there has been vastly insufficient accountability for the violations we do know about.”
Federal investigators tried to seize call logs and metadata from Cruz’s cell phone from AT&T early in their probe, a request the carrier denied.
Another carrier, Verizon, turned over records for other lawmakers and a subpoena for the phones’ so-called “toll analysis” was kept hidden via a non-disclosure order signed by a federal judge.
Cruz claimed Smith’s prosecutorial overreach in “Arctic Frost” would go down as “Joe Biden’s Watergate.”
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who chairs the Judiciary Committee, received the latest records via protected whistleblower disclosures.
“My colleague, Senator Cruz, was right to remind Americans of President Trump’s work to strengthen our economy, stop socialism and stand up to Iran,” Grassley said.
“Republicans remain united in our support for America’s national security and economic freedom,” he added. “Despite Jack Smith’s attempt to throw him in prison, President Trump is still fighting for these America First principles today.”
Up to 639,000 Republican donors, voters and supporters had their information obtained by Smith’s office, according to subpoena returns the Senate Judiciary Committee’s GOP chairman released earlier this month.
Among the roster were Americans who gave as little as $1 toward Trump’s re-election in 2020 — or who purchased red “Make America Great Again” hats from vendors sending proceeds to the 45th president’s campaign.
At times, Grassley has referred to Smith’s effort as a “fishing expedition” that extended far beyond Trump and some of his allies to target the entire Republican Party apparatus.
