US EditionDeal to end US shutdown would also allow some Republican senators to seek $500,000 for January 6 probe
The bill lets eight Republican senators sue for $500,000 each over alleged unauthorized subpoenas of phone records during the January 6 investigation.
- On Monday, the U.S. Senate passed the bill to end the longest government shutdown and allow eight Republican senators to sue over subpoenaed phone records tied to January 6, 2021.
- The records originated in an investigation into January 6, 2021, as part of Special Counsel Jack Smith's probe into President Donald Trump's effort to overturn the 2020 election, which Smith dropped after the 2024 election citing DOJ policy.
- Legally, the bill retroactively bars most undisclosed collection of senators' phone data and permits suits for statutory damages and attorneys' fees, while the Justice Department could opt to settle lawsuits.
- Democrats responded that the bill lets certain Republicans receive hefty taxpayer-funded payouts, with Senator Patty Murray calling it a 'corrupt cash bonus' of at least $500k each, while Senator Marsha Blackburn vowed to pursue accountability over alleged government weaponization.
- Among supporters were Senator Marsha Blackburn and seven colleagues who voted for the bill, while senators demanded details from AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile about data turned over under subpoenas.
28 Articles
28 Articles
Fox News' Gregg Jarrett Calls GOP Senators' Latest Proposal Illegal
Fox News legal analyst Gregg Jarrett blasted a new Senate proposal Wednesday that would allow lawmakers to sue the federal government for warrantless searches conducted without their knowledge. GOP lawmakers added a shutdown-deal provision targeting the Biden FBI’s “Arctic Frost” surveillance effort and giving senators whose phone records were secretly seized a path to sue the government […] Fox News’ Gregg Jarrett Calls GOP Senators’ Latest Pro…
Tennessee senators among lawmakers who could sue over Jan. 6 phone record seizures
Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Bill Hagerty (R-TN) are among those who would be allowed to sue the federal government $500,000 per violation for seizing their phone records without their knowledge during an investigation into the Jan. 6 insurrection under a provision included in the government spending bill.
Horsford slams bill that does zip on insurance costs but lets GOP senators sue the government
Nevada Democratic Rep. Steven Horsford at the No Kings rally in Las Vegas on Oct. 18, 2025. (Photo: Hugh Jackson/Nevada Current)The Senate resolution that reopens the federal government without extending health care subsidies, but allows some Republicans to sue the government over the Jan. 6 investigation, is “betrayal of a bill,” said Democratic U.S. Rep. Steven Horsford. Horsford, who spoke virtually Monday night to the NAACP Las Vegas chapt…
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