Thune Noncommittal on Allowing Senators to Sue U.S. Over Jan. 6 Phone Surveillance
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., was noncommittal Wednesday about the House's bill (HR-6019) to repeal language in the package to end the recent government shutdown that allows senators to sue federal agencies for accessing their phone records without notice. That measure appeared likely to pass the House on Wednesday night amid lawmakers’ complaints that the lawsuit language applies only to senators (see 2511130050). Thune added the provision to the shutdown bill following reports that the FBI and former Special Counsel Jack Smith accessed phone records of several Republicans without notice as part of the Arctic Frost probe of the Jan. 6 Capitol siege (see 2510170039).
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“You have an independent, co-equal branch of the government whose members were, through illegal means, having their phone records acquired. Spied on, if you will,” Thune told reporters. “That, to me, demands some accountability.” The Senate “drafted this whole thing not to in any way implicate the House,” as the law in question applies only to the upper chamber, he said. “But the House is going to do what they’re going to do.” Thune noted that he doesn't “think there is anybody that was targeted for whom the money matters. I think it's more the principle and making sure there's a remedy in the future.”
Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, one of the GOP lawmakers whose records were accessed, said in a statement she would “support the effort” to pass HR-6019 if the Senate takes up the measure. “This fight is not about the money; it is about holding the left accountable for the worst weaponization of government in our nation’s history.”
Another Republican involved in the probe, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, said Tuesday night on Fox News that he's “going to sue” via the newly enacted provision. “If you don't sue, they'll keep doing it,” he said. “Don't run away from this, Republicans. Fight back.”
Meanwhile, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, referred Thomas Windom, former senior assistant special counsel under Smith, to DOJ for prosecution on claims he obstructed Congress when he “declined to answer nearly every single one [of the panel's] questions in a deposition,” including ones about Arctic Frost and the Aug. 9, 2022, seizure of the cellphone of Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., in relation to the investigation. “Congress cannot perform its oversight function if witnesses who appear before its committees corruptly refuse to provide information that the law requires them to furnish,” Jordan said in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi.