Biden administration gave Trump, Pence cell phones to FBI as part of 2020 election probe: Reports

Officials under former US President Joe Biden helped the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) build out its election tampering case against Donald Trump by turning over government-issued cell phones belonging to the 45th president and former Vice President Mike Pence, according to news reports Monday.

The new revelation was made in whistleblower disclosures released by Senators Chuck Grassley and Ron Johnson on Friday, which were related to the FBI's so-called 2022 "Arctic Frost" investigation into Trump, which they say was improperly opened by "anti-Trump" former Assistant Special Agent in Charge Timothy Thibault.

"The American people deserve to know the complete extent of the corruption within the DOJ and FBI that led to the investigation into President Trump," said the senators in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel.

"We are making this information public for purposes of public accountability and to provide specific examples of past behavior at your institutions that must not be repeated," they continued. "Quite simply, the public has a right to know what happened in Arctic Frost, and based on what we've exposed to date, the American public deserves better from its law enforcement agencies."

According to sources close to the investigation, it appears that the FBI did not require a warrant when it obtained the Trump and Pence cell phones, which were in the possession of Biden's White House counsel.

The public disclosure released the email from Thibault with the subject line "Arctic Frost Update 5 17 2022."

"On May 4, 2022, CR-15 agents took possession of two phones belonging to former President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence," wrote Thibault. "The phones were entered into evidence and will not be processed until search warrants are obtained.”

A source familiar with the investigation told Fox News that "the Biden White House played right along with the FBI's 'gotcha' scheme against Trump" and "gave its blessing and accommodation for the FBI to physically obtain Trump and Pence's phones."

The FBI has not yet commented on the new revelations, but Grassley and Johnson have asked Patel to produce "all records related to the Arctic Frost investigation" by March 27.