Blackburn, Others Urge DOJ to Probe Biden-Era Surveillance of GOP Lawmakers
Senate Communications Subcommittee member Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and four other congressional Republicans urged U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi on Friday to seek a DOJ Office of Professional Responsibility probe of then-Special Counsel Jack Smith's reported surveillance of the lawmakers during the Biden administration. The FBI is already investigating claims that the agency and Smith’s Arctic Frost team, which probed the Jan. 6 Capitol siege, analyzed records of communications by Blackburn and eight other GOP lawmakers from Jan. 4-7, 2021 (see 2510070045). Blackburn also spearheaded recent requests for AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon to explain why they turned over the Republicans’ communications records to the FBI and Smith.
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In their letter to Bondi, Blackburn and her co-signers -- Rep. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania and Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Dan Sullivan of Alaska and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama -- said it’s “blatantly clear that, by seeking these phone records without our knowledge and consent and without any known criminal predicate, [Smith] has violated this provision of the Rules of Professional Conduct that is intended to prevent precisely the type of conduct that occurred in this matter.” The Republicans want boards in New York and Tennessee, the states where Smith has licenses to practice law, to “consider all options in holding Smith accountable for this misconduct -- including disbarment.”