In New Spending Bill, a GOP Move Against Jack Smith

A new provision in a government spending bill would let US senators sue the federal government for up to $500,000 for each violation if their phone records are searched without their knowledge. The measure, included in a funding bill for the legislative branch, could have immediate consequences for eight Republican senators whose phone records were subpoenaed during special counsel Jack Smith's investigation into the events surrounding Jan. 6, 2021. The New York Times lists the affected senators as Lindsey Graham, Marsha Blackburn, Bill Hagerty, Josh Hawley, Dan Sullivan, Tommy Tuberville, Ron Johnson, and Cynthia Lummis.

Sen. Ted Cruz, who claims his data was also subpoenaed, says that Senate Majority Leader John Thune is the one who shoehorned the measure into the spending bill, per Politico. "Leader Thune inserted that in the bill to provide real teeth to the prohibition on the Department of Justice targeting senators," Cruz says. Smith sought the phone records in 2023 as part of his probe into efforts by President Trump and allies to challenge the 2020 election results, but the lawmakers were only formally notified of the subpoenas this year.

The bill requires that senators be notified if their phone records or other data are obtained from service providers, with certain exceptions, such as a 60-day notification delay if the senator is the target of an investigation. The provision is retroactive to 2022, covering the period when these subpoenas were issued. Notably, the bill strips the government of qualified or sovereign immunity defenses in such lawsuits, making it easier for senators to sue.

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Smith's team has defended the subpoenas as a legitimate part of the investigation, arguing that the intent was to examine Trump's actions, not to target the senators directly. The new measure has drawn criticism from Democrats, including Sen. Ron Wyden, who accused Republicans of sneaking in a "giveaway" of tax dollars to their colleagues, though he said Americans should be notified if the government accesses their records. Meanwhile, some Republicans are now demanding that Smith see jail time. "We're not gonna put up with this," Rep. Michael Rulli of Ohio told Fox Business this week.