# Biden White House turned over Trump, Pence government cellphones to FBI as part of anti-Trump agent's case

## Article Details
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- **Published:** March 14, 2025 3:02pm EDT
- **Updated:** March 14, 2025 3:09pm EDT
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## Content

### Exclusive: Biden White House turned over government cellphones belonging to President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence to the FBI in May 2022 as part of a bureau probe into the aftermath of the 2020 election, tying Trump to that investigation without sufficient predicate

The phones were obtained and entered as evidence as part of the FBI’s original anti-Trump 2020 election investigation, which eventually was taken over by special counsel Jack Smith. That case was known inside the bureau as "Arctic Frost" and was opened April 13, 2022, by anti-Trump former FBI agent Timothy Thibault.

Thibault, according to whistleblowers, broke protocol and played a critical role in opening and advancing the bureau’s original investigation related to the 2020 election, tying Trump to the probe without sufficient predicate. Thibault broke protocol by taking action to open the investigation and involve Trump despite being unauthorized to open criminal investigations in his role. Only special agents have the authority to open criminal investigations.

### Johnson and Grassley: The new records we are making public point to an aggressive investigation run by anti-Trump agencies and prosecutors intent on using every resource available to pursue Trump and his supporters

The first record relating to the Trump and Pence phones was dated April 25, 2022, and noted: "DOJ and FBI were informed that government-issued cellphones that purportedly previously belonged to former Vice President Mike Pence and former President Donald J. Trump were in the possession of individuals at the White House. DOJ is currently conducting analysis regarding the FBI taking possession of and processing the phones."



The records revealed that, on May 4, 2022, FBI agents took possession of the two phones belonging to Trump and Pence. The phones were entered into evidence and were not processed until search warrants were obtained, according to the record.

On that same date, FBI agents interviewed Deputy White House Counsel Jonathan Su. A follow-up letter requesting additional information regarding the phones was then sent from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington D.C., to White House Counsel Dana Remus May 9, 2022.

Remus and Su declined to comment to Fox News Digital.

A representative for former President Joe Biden did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment on whether he was aware of the situation.

Agents also sought to interview former Trump administration officials, including employees from the offices of the President and Vice President, DOJ and then-Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe. Ratcliffe is the CIA director in the second Trump administration.

"Sunshine is the best disinfectant," Grassley and Johnson wrote to Bondi and Patel Thursday.

"In addition, we request data providing a true and complete breakdown of the total dollar amount spent on the Arctic Frost investigation before it was officially transferred to Jack Smith in November 2022," they wrote. "Please also include information related to travel funds and hours spent on the investigation."

Grassley and Johnson gave Bondi and Patel a deadline of March 27, 2025, to turn over all records.

FBI spokesman Ben Williamson told Fox News Digital the bureau is "in receipt of Chairman Grassley and Senator Johnson’s request."

"As always per Director Patel’s directive, our team will work aggressively to comply with congressional requests," Williamson told Fox News Digital.

As for Thibault, Fox News Digital exclusively reported in 2024 that he had been fired from the FBI after he allegedly violated the Hatch Act in his political posts on social media. Previous whistleblowers claimed Thibault had shown a "pattern of active public partisanship," which likely affected investigations involving Trump and Hunter Biden.

Former Attorney General Pam Bondi appointed Smith, a former Justice Department official, as special counsel in November 2022.

Smith, a former assistant U.S. attorney and chief to the DOJ's public integrity section, led the investigation into Trump's retention of classified documents after leaving the White House and whether the former president obstructed the federal government's investigation into the matter.

Smith was also tasked with overseeing the investigation into whether Trump or other officials and entities interfered with the peaceful transfer of power after the 2020 presidential election, including the certification of the Electoral College vote Jan. 6, 2021.

Smith charged Trump in both cases, but Trump pleaded not guilty.

The classified records case was dismissed in July 2024 by U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida Judge Aileen Cannon, who ruled that Smith was unlawfully appointed as special counsel.

Smith charged Trump in the U.S. District Court for Washington, D.C., in his 2020 election case, but after Trump was elected president, Smith sought to dismiss the case. Judge Tanya Chutkan granted that request.

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