Patel Exposes ‘Self-Awarded’ Trophy Linked to Trump Investigation

In a stunning example of bureaucratic arrogance, FBI Director Kash Patel revealed a “self-awarded” trophy created by former FBI officials to celebrate their covert investigation into President Donald Trump and his allies a probe that ultimately collapsed under scrutiny and has become a symbol of political weaponization.

The metallic-colored, 3D-printed award, displayed in a photo posted to X by Patel, was made to commemorate Operation Arctic Frost a now-discredited investigation launched after the 2020 election that targeted hundreds of Republicans, Trump campaign figures, and GOP donors.

“This is what corruption looks like when it thinks no one is watching,” Patel wrote. “I disbanded CR-15 and removed the corrupt actors involved.”

The trophy adorned with “AF” (for Arctic Frost), a lightning bolt, a dollar sign, and the imprint “CR-15” is the kind of smug inside joke that would be right at home in a D.C. cocktail party. But this wasn’t a joke. It was a real FBI unit celebrating its work in weaponizing federal law enforcement against political opponents.

CR-15, the unit responsible for the trophy, was officially known as a public corruption squad. In reality, it morphed into a tool for political payback and was disbanded by Patel after he took the reins at the FBI under President Trump’s second term.

Here’s what we know about Operation Arctic Frost:

• Senate Republicans uncovered 197 subpoenas issued by the Biden-era FBI as part of Arctic Frost many targeting GOP lawmakers, operatives, donors, and even conservative media figures.

• The operation later fed into Jack Smith’s politically charged special counsel investigation, which fell apart after Trump’s re-election in 2024.

• FBI officials even paid a confidential human source $20,000 to dig up dirt on Trump, according to reports from Fox News Digital.

• The charges Smith brought were later dismissed, but not before the Justice Department attempted to gag Trump, fast-track trials, and subpoena phone records of members of Congress all while the 2024 election campaign was underway.

Patel’s trophy post was more than just a takedown it was a reminder of how deep the rot went at the highest levels of the FBI, and why the Trump administration moved swiftly to clean house.

“When legacy media cries that President Trump’s FBI fired people and made sweeping changes, I have one response,” Patel wrote. “You’re damn right we did.”

This is what justice looked like under the Biden administration:

• Investigations driven by politics, not evidence.

• FBI units making commemorative trophies to celebrate targeting a sitting president.

• Legal harassment of conservatives wrapped in the language of “national security.”

And yet, the media and the Democrats who cheered them on continue to paint Trump as the threat to democracy.

No one should ever get a trophy for undermining the U.S. Constitution. Operation Arctic Frost was never about justice it was about revenge. And thanks to Director Patel and President Trump, that era is over.

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