Blackburn Sues Smith Over Phone Records

Sen. Marsha Blackburn sued former special counsel Jack Smith and the U.S. Department of Justice in federal court on Wednesday, challenging the acquisition of her phone toll records during the investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election. She is seeking $1 in nominal damages, a declaration that Smith’s appointment was unlawful, and an order requiring the records to be returned or destroyed. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, alleges that Smith’s office obtained Blackburn’s Verizon records through a grand jury subpoena in May 2023 and secured a nondisclosure order that prevented the company from notifying her. Toll records show which numbers communicated, when calls occurred and how long they lasted, but not the conversations’ contents. Blackburn argues that the subpoena and nondisclosure process violated her constitutional rights, including protections under the Speech or Debate Clause, which concerns lawmakers’ legislative work.