ICYMI: Grassley Joins The Washington Times’ Alex Swoyer to Discuss Arctic Frost, Whistleblower Advocacy, FISA and Judicial Confirmations

WASHINGTON - Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) sat down with Alex Swoyer of The Washington Times to discuss his Arctic Frost oversight and longtime advocacy for whistleblowers. Grassley also discussed the importance of reauthorizing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), the judicial confirmations process and more.

Watch the full interview HERE. Excerpts follow.

VIDEO

On Grassley's Arctic Frost oversight:

"[Arctic Frost was an] attempt was to make sure that not only was President Trump never president again, but that he would be ruined economically, socially and politically, and he'd end up in prison...

"The most troubling thing is how sweeping this investigation was, and the issuing of subpoenas to 400 different Republican entities or individuals, by a Judge Boasberg... The total amount ought to bring attention to him. [H]e's a judge - he's got to know the Constitution. He's got to know the speech [or] debate clause...

"It's just an abuse of a special counsel; it's ignorance on the part of the judge that participated in it and it's just a total denial of constitutional rights."

On accountability for Arctic Frost, Jack Smith and Judge Boasberg:

"Of course, we don't prosecute in Congress - that's done in the executive branch. As one senator, I would expect that prosecution be done where these injustices have been done...

"I can tell you that when we get all the documentation that we need, so we can have a thorough meeting with [Jack Smith] and he can't mislead us in any way - before the end of the year he's going to be before our committee...

"I think I should wait until the evidence is presented to me before I say I'd vote for impeachment or not vote for impeachment [of Judge Boasberg], but I'm not questioning the House doing what they're doing. I think they ought to do their job, and I think there's reasons why they ought to at least consider [impeachment proceedings for] Boasberg."

On threats to judges and the 2022 Supreme Court Dobbsleak:

"Obviously there should be accountability when you're threatening any judge [or] Supreme Court Justice...

"I hope that [the executive branch is] following up and making sure that the people that leaked the Dobbs [v. Jackson Women's Health Organization] case, that they're prosecuted. If you don't get some justice from it and some prosecution from it, you're saying to other leakers in the Supreme Court, 'It's okay to leak.' And the leaks were done to embarrass people not approving of the Dobbs case, and I'm kind of surprised that it didn't affect [the outcome]."

On the need to reauthorize FISA:

"I hope...we can get the Democrat votes we need, because if we don't pass FISA, our national security is going to be in jeopardy...

"For instance, we know what [FISA] did when [Taylor] Swift was in Austria - Austrian officials got information from [the U.S.] that came through [FISA Section] 702, and they canceled [her concert]. If it hadn't been canceled, several people - maybe several hundreds of people - could have been hurt as a result of that, or even killed because of the result of that.

"It proves, just that one example, that information we get through FISA inquiries [is critical], and it protects totally the constitutional rights of American citizens - American citizens here [and] American citizens overseas. The only thing [FISA] affects is people that want to hurt America that haven't been on American soil, and we ought to have that information. That's why FISA's so important."

On protecting and empowering whistleblowers:

"I'm a protector of whistleblowers. That doesn't mean every whistleblower that comes to me I'm going to believe, but we investigate - and I find almost all of them have a worthy cause [Whistleblowers] are treated like skunks at a picnic at their agency, or wherever they are, and they need to be protected.

"So, these people in the Democrat House of Representatives that are finding fault with what I did - all I was doing was getting justice that [the whistleblowers were] entitled to. In other words, we got [whistleblowers] their job back, if they wanted it back. If they didn't want their job back... [we got them] their pay, or some of them really wanted their national security [clearances] reinstated, so that they can practice their profession.

"They're entitled to it, because whistleblowers are nothing but patriotic Americans. All they want the government to do is follow the law, spend the money. All they're convicted of when they become a whistleblower, is telling the truth...

"I'll bet you I get 85 or 90% of my ideas for oversight from whistleblowers... [Democrats] didn't like it, because a lot of things [the whistleblowers] were squealing on [included] the Democrat [weaponization] against their enemies, and...the injustice that President Trump got under [Jack] Smith."

On the judicial confirmation pace:

"I can tell you this - just as soon as there's a vacancy and [the Judiciary Committee gets] the name, it's got priority with us, and it should have priority with us... Last year, we processed more judges than any time since 1981."

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