Marsha Blackburn sues Jack Smith over seized phone records
The complaint seeks $1 in damages and an order to return or destroy the records, saying Smith lacked lawful appointment authority.
- Tennessee Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against former Special Counsel Jack Smith, alleging he unlawfully obtained her cellphone toll records during his Arctic Frost investigation into the 2020 election.
- Prosecutors obtained a sealed nondisclosure order from Verizon to keep the subpoena secret, preventing Blackburn from asserting legislative privilege and violating, she alleges, the Speech or Debate Clause.
- The 46-page complaint challenges Smith's 2022 appointment by Attorney General Merrick Garland, arguing he lacked Senate confirmation required by the Appointments Clause. Justice Department memos cited in the filing acknowledged "litigation risk" regarding Speech or Debate Clause violations.
- Blackburn demands a jury trial, $1 in nominal damages, and court orders forcing the Justice Department to destroy seized legislative materials, calling the action "the grave abuse of authority that this case seeks to rectify."
- This lawsuit escalates Republican efforts to challenge Smith's investigation more than a year after his probe ended, with records indicating the Arctic Frost probe targeted at least 20 Republican members of Congress.
44 Articles
44 Articles
GOP senator rages at Jack Smith for “mocking Trump’s complexion” in new lawsuit
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) brought up a strange complaint in her lawsuit against former special counsel Jack Smith: that he and the FBI used the term “Arctic Frost” to mock Donald Trump’s skin color. The far-right senator filed a lawsuit against Smith for $1 in nominal damages yesterday, alleging misconduct related to the “Arctic Frost” FBI investigation he led. That investigation looked into 2020 election obstruction and led to Trump facing f…
Marsha Blackburn Sues Jack Smith, DOJ Over Her J6 Phone Records
Sen. Marsha Blackburn is taking Jack Smith to short over a subpoena held to President Trump's election interest probe. The Tennessee Republican sued Smith and the Justice Department on Wednesday, reports the New York Times, arguing that obtaining her phone toll records during the Jan. 6 investigation violated the Constitution's...
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