GOP senators distance themselves from provision allowing them to sue over phone record searches

Most of the senators whose data was requested as part of the investigation that led to special counsel Jack Smith’s Jan. 6 probe have now distanced themselves from a provision included in the shutdown-ending bill, signed into law by President Donald Trump, that would let them sue the government for potentially millions of dollars for not notifying them when accessing their records.“I have no plans at this time” to sue, Sen.

Most of the senators whose data was requested as part of the investigation that led to special counsel Jack Smith’s Jan. 6 probe have now distanced themselves from a provision included in the shutdown-ending bill, signed into law by President Donald Trump, that would let them sue the government for potentially millions of dollars for not notifying them when accessing their records.

“I have no plans at this time” to sue, Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., said in a statement shared with NBC News. “If I did sue, it would only be for the purpose of using the courts to expose the corrupt weaponization of federal law enforcement by the Biden and Obama administrations. With the full cooperation in our congressional investigations from the Trump DOJ and FBI, that shouldn’t be necessary.”

Trump’s Justice Department gave Senate Republicans a document naming eight GOP Senators and one member of the House whose data was accessed as part of the Jan. 6 investigation. And under this new retroactive statute, which does not explicitly name Smith, the senators would be afforded a unique ability to sue the government and potentially rake in up to $500,000 for each “instance” of data collection. (The provision only applies to senators and would not apply if a senator were the target of a criminal investigation.)

Several senators have already indicated that they won’t seek a payout.

Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., says he will not sue the government by using the provision included in the government funding bill, even though his data was requested as part of the investigation that led to Smith’s investigation.