Former US special counsel Jack Smith attends a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, US, September 29, 2026.
Newsweek reports all four active U.S. district judges in Middle Tennessee have recused themselves from a lawsuit brought by Republican Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn against former special counsel Jack Smith over the collection of her phone records. This includes two judges that Trump himself appointed.
Blackburn filed the lawsuit on September 30 over Smith’s Arctic Frost investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election. As part of that inquiry, Newsweek reports investigators “obtained phone metadata linked to Blackburn and several other lawmakers.”
“Through his Arctic Frost witch hunt that targeted conservatives across America and even the President of the United States, Jack Smith perpetrated one of the worst abuses of government power in our nation's history," said Blackburn. "This lawsuit is solely about holding Mr. Smith accountable and ensuring that our nation's justice system can never again be weaponized against the American people."
This issue goes back to Trump appointee Judge Aileen Cannon's ruling that Smith was not a legal special counsel because she claimed he was not approved by the U.S. Senate. Until Smith, no special counsels were required to be approved by the U.S. Senate.
Blackburn claims that obtaining the records violated her constitutional rights, even though Smith said the records did not include call contents and that his office consulted the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section before issuing the subpoenas. Her lawsuit alleges violations of the Speech or Debate Clause, First Amendment and Fourth Amendment, and also challenges the legality of Smith’s appointment as special counsel.
But now, Newsweek reports, an order filed October 5 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee reveals that no judge is willing to take up Blackburn’s argument.
“All District Judges of the Middle District of Tennessee have recused in this matter.”
“The order, signed by Chief U.S. District Judge William L. Campbell Jr., said a judge from outside the district will now be designated by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and the case will then be reassigned,” reports Newsweek. “The October 5 order does not give a reason for the recusals, and it does not say that any judge has a specific conflict of interest or bias in connection with the litigation. Two of the judges were appointed by President Donald Trump, while one was appointed by Bill Clinton and another by Barack Obama.”
Blackwell’s complaint points out that Smith and others who worked on the investigation subpoenaed toll records associated with a cellphone she used for legislative purposes. The lawsuit said those records revealed who Blackburn communicated with and the times and duration of the communications. But Blackburn herself does not allege that investigators intercepted the contents of her calls.
Blackburn is currently running for the governor's mansion in her state.