The bill that President Donald Trump signed into law to reopen the federal government contains one controversial provision that allows several Senate Republicans to enrich themselves with taxpayer money. Nearly all senators have since come out against it — except one.
Politico reported Thursday that there are almost no Republicans willing to defend that section of the government funding bill, which allows senators whose phone records were swept up by former Department of Justice (DOJ) special counsel Jack Smith's prosecutors as part of their "Operation" Arctic Frost" investigation to sue for up to $500,000. However, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) is standing by that language, and communicated his intent to "definitely" sue for as much as he is legally allowed.
"[I]f you think I’m going to settle this thing for a million dollars — no. I want to make it so painful, no one ever does this again … I’m going to pursue through the court system — remedies," Graham said.
“This wasn’t about investigating me or other Senators for a crime — it was a fishing expedition,” he added. “I’m going to push back really hard … that will protect the Senate in the future.”
In addition to Graham, Smith's team accessed the phone records of Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) and Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) along with Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.). But according to Politico, none of those other senators have said they plan to pursue monetary relief.
"I think the Senate provision is a bad idea," Hawley said. "There needs to be accountability for the Biden DOJ’s outrageous abuse of the separation of powers, but the right way to do that is through public hearings, tough oversight, including of the complicit telecomm companies, and prosecution where warranted."
A spokesperson for Sen. Blackburn said that while the Tennessee Republican may still sue, she won't ask for money, and that her "plan has always been to seek a declaratory judgment ... to prevent leftists from violating the constitutional rights of conservatives." And Lummis' office emphasized that while the Wyoming senator didn't have a role in the crafting of the language, the lawsuit provision was "the only way to hold Jack Smith and wrongdoers accountable."
Whether the language survived the GOP-controlled House of Representatives is up for debate. Rep. John Rose (R-Tenn.) introduced a bill to repeal the lawsuit language from the funding bill, and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is expected to hold a vote on that legislation next week.
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