Des Moines Sun

Senator Chuck Grassley, representing Iowa, made several statements on his social media account regarding recent political events and investigations.

On October 15, 2025, Grassley alleged partisan origins in a federal investigation known as Arctic Frost. He stated, "Tim Thibault the anti-Trump agent who violated the Hatch Act opened Arctic Frost w other partisans then gave case 2 Jack Smith who secretly subpoenaed Republican Senators phone records

Dont let legacy media fool U: ARCTIC FROST WAS PARTISAN FRM THE START https://t.co/93uhY8N23h". In this post, Grassley accused Tim Thibault, a former FBI agent, of violating federal law and characterized the investigation as partisan from its inception. He also claimed that Special Counsel Jack Smith had subpoenaed the phone records of Republican Senators in secret.

Later that day, on October 15, 2025, Grassley addressed Senate Democrats directly. He posted, "Attn Senate Democrats: for Babydog Justice’s 6th bday how abt several of u be reasonable & join our bipartisan effort to open the govt??? https://t.co/UpJfUdVhZP", calling for bipartisan cooperation to end a government shutdown and referencing "Babydog Justice’s" birthday as an appeal for unity.

On October 16, 2025, Grassley commented on the ongoing government shutdown with a brief message: "2day is day 16 of the Schumer Shutdown".

Grassley's comments refer to several recent political developments. The investigation he mentions is led by Special Counsel Jack Smith and has been subject to scrutiny from some lawmakers who allege partisan motivations. The Hatch Act prohibits certain federal employees from engaging in political activities while performing their official duties. Government shutdowns occur when Congress fails to pass funding legislation; in this instance, the shutdown had lasted over two weeks by mid-October 2025. The term "Schumer Shutdown" is used by some Republicans to attribute responsibility for the closure to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.