A new lawsuit was filed on Tuesday against U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, the Department of Justice (DOJ), as well as the FBI, and Director Kash Patel, by three of the former FBI agents who obtained subpoenas for the phone records of eight U.S. senators, including Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Bill Hagerty (R-TN). They were fired by Patel last year as part of his effort to restore public confidence in the nation’s top law enforcement agency.
In their complaint, fired FBI agents Jamie Garman, Blaire Toleman, and Michelle Ball ask the court to grant them class certification, and to declare their firings part of an illegal “retribution campaign” for their work on Arctic Frost, the DOJ code name for the federal investigation into President Donald Trump and his allies for their efforts to contest of the 2020 presidential election.
The former agents, who filed the case in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, also asked a judge to force the FBI to reinstate them and provide back pay. The lawsuit specifically notes that Patel referenced the firings and the subpoenas issued through Arctic Frost in a cable news interview that aired the same day their employment was terminated.
“I mean just think about it—eight sitting United States Senators—phone records were gathered and subpoenaed through the Grand Jury process and it was buried and wormholed in the hope that no one would find it,” said Patel. “You’re darn right I fired those agents, you’re darn right I blew up CR-15, the public corruption squad, that led the weaponization at the Washington Field Office.”
The lawsuit also cites a post on X in which Patel described the firings as part of his efforts to improve transparency.
“Transparency is important and accountability is critical. We promised both, and this is what promises kept looks like. This FBI is delivering,” Patel wrote. “We terminated employees, we abolished the weaponized CR-15 squad, and we initiated an ongoing investigation with more accountability measures ahead.”
Transparency is important and accountability is critical. We promised both, and this is what promises kept looks like. This FBI is delivering.
As a result of our latest disclosure about the baseless monitoring of members of Congress by the prior leadership team of the FBI, we…— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) October 7, 2025
In addition to the eight Republican senators, it has since been revealed former special prosecutor Jack Smith obtained phone records for over 400 people. The Tennessee Star recently revealed these subpoenas, approved by U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg, included former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline, who led a third-party legal effort to challenge the 2020 election results.
Recently released documents reportedly show the Arctic Frost investigation began at the behest of the Biden White House and the DOJ.
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Tom Pappert is a 2025 recipient of the Dao Prize and the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star. He also reports for the Star News Network. Follow Tom on X. Email tips to [email protected].
