DOJ discloses direct investigative-team access to Arctic Frost text-message production
A Justice Department letter and a 90-page Senate-released exhibit document the Special Counsel filter-team structure and an August 21, 2023 National Archives production of 54 Excel files containing White House phone text messages. DOJ later stated that investigative-team personnel accessed the spreadsheets before the established filter review was completed and identified messages involving 44 current or former members of Congress. The records document process and access; they do not themselves establish a criminal violation, resolve privilege, or adjudicate the legality of the underlying records request.
Evidence on file
2 documents on file
Govt response2 documents
Responses from DC DOC, the U.S. Marshals, and federal agencies.
exhibit · Jul 14, 2026
Arctic Frost Filter Review Exhibit A — Project Coconut and NARA text production
A 90-page record package released by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Chairman Ron Johnson. The exhibit identifies Project Coconut as the January 6 investigation, describes the filter-team structure intended to screen potentially privileged material, and contains August 21, 2023 emails recording a single National Archives production of 54 Excel files containing White House phone text messages. The exhibit documents internal process and records handling; it does not itself adjudicate criminality, privilege, or the lawfulness of the underlying records request.
Readletter · Jul 14, 2026
DOJ letter describes Arctic Frost filter-team bypass and congressional text-message access
A four-page Justice Department letter released July 14, 2026 states that the Special Counsel investigative team directly accessed National Archives text-message spreadsheets involving 44 current or former members of Congress before the established filter-team review process was completed. The letter is an official source about process and records access; it does not by itself establish a criminal violation.
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