Blackburn Sues Smith Over Collection of Phone Records

Sen. Marsha Blackburn has filed a civil lawsuit against former special counsel Jack Smith and the Justice Department, challenging the collection of her phone records during the investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election. The complaint, filed in federal court in Tennessee on September 30, seeks nominal damages and an order requiring the records to be returned or destroyed. It also asks the court to declare Smith’s appointment unlawful. Blackburn alleges that Smith’s team violated her constitutional rights by obtaining the records and preventing her from learning of the subpoena in time to object. The complaint invokes the Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause, which protects lawmakers in connection with their legislative work, as well as other constitutional protections. These are allegations, not findings by a court, and no ruling on the lawsuit was reported. According to the complaint, investigators obtained Blackburn’s toll records from Verizon through a grand jury subpoena. Toll records show which numbers communicated and the timing and duration of calls, but not what callers said.