Republican senators caught up in Jack Smith’s phone-record seizures may soon get their chance to strike back thanks to a provision quietly tucked into a bill the Senate passed Monday night.
The provision was included in a bill that funded the legislative branch and was part of the package passed by the Senate to end the government shutdown. It would allow senators to sue for damages if the government accessed their records without their knowledge.
“Any senator whose Senate data, or the Senate data of whose Senate office, has been acquired, subpoenaed, searched, accessed, or disclosed in violation of this section may bring a civil action against the United States if the violation was committed by an officer, employee, or agent of the United States or of any federal department or agency,” the bill says.
The provision applies when their Senate data was “acquired, subpoenaed, searched, accessed, or disclosed pursuant to a search, seizure, or demand for information without notice being provided.”
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