Blackburn Sues Jack Smith Over Jan. 6 Phone Subpoena, Seeking $1 and Record Destruction
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Sep 30
Blackburn Sues Jack Smith Over Jan. 6 Phone Subpoena, Seeking $1 and Record Destruction
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Sep 30
Summary
Marsha Blackburn filed suit in federal court in Tennessee, accusing former special counsel Jack Smith and the Justice Department of unconstitutionally obtaining her phone records during the Trump election-subversion inquiry.
The complaint says subpoenas to phone companies for lawmakers’ toll records around Jan. 6, 2021 violated the Constitution’s speech or debate clause, even though the orders sought call logs rather than call contents.
Blackburn wants a declaration that Smith conspired to violate her rights, $1 in symbolic damages from him, and an order requiring the Justice Department to destroy her records.
The case could force courts to address a contested question Republicans have elevated politically: whether the speech or debate clause shields lawmakers’ communications metadata from executive-branch subpoenas.