A provision tied to the investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol buried deep in the bill to end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history has sparked bipartisan outrage as the House moves closer to passing the legislation.
The bill would let Republican senators whose phone records were seized by the FBI as part of an investigation led by special counsel Jack Smith into Jan. 6 sue the federal government for damages. Each of them could receive $500,000 as well as legal fees. House members whose phone records were obtained wouldn’t be eligible.
A provision tied to the investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol buried deep in the bill to end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history has sparked bipartisan outrage as the House moves closer to passing the legislation.
The bill would let Republican senators whose phone records were seized by the FBI as part of an investigation led by special counsel Jack Smith into Jan. 6 sue the federal government for damages. Each of them could receive $500,000 as well as legal fees. House members whose phone records were obtained wouldn’t be eligible.
The provision appeared to be a response to the disclosure last month that the FBI seized the phone records of nine Republicans — Sens. Tommy Tuberville (Alabama), Lindsey Graham (South Carolina), Marsha Blackburn (Tennessee), Ron Johnson (Wisconsin), Cynthia Lummis (Wyoming), Bill Hagerty (Tennessee), Josh Hawley (Missouri) and Dan Sullivan (Alaska) and Rep. Mike Kelly (Pennsylvania) — during the Biden administration as part of Smith’s investigation into Jan. 6.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has said his phone records were subpoenaed but that AT&T refused to turn them over. Sen. Rick Scott (R-Florida) has said he was targeted as well.
That disclosure infuriated Republicans, with Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) describing the Smith probe as “arguably worse than Watergate.”
The language about the lawsuits was inserted into the 392-page bill as part of an agreement between Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota) and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-New York), according to five Senate aides familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. Thune’s involvement was first reported by Politico. It would also allow senators to sue if their phone records or other data are subpoenaed or sought in the future without notifying them as long as they are not targets of a criminal investigation.
The provision set off a furious backlash in the House.
Republicans are not seeking to strip the provision because changing the funding bill would force the Senate to return to pass it again, delaying the end of a shutdown that has dragged on for 43 days. But Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) said Wednesday that the House would fast-track legislation next week to repeal the provision. At least two-thirds of the House is expected to support it.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) also condemned the language allowing senators to sue, describing it as a “self-dealing sick provision.”
Schumer will support Johnson’s push to repeal the provision and push for the Senate to pass it if it clears the House, according to Schumer spokeswoman Ally Biasotti.
In the House, Democrats and some Republicans condemned the provision during a Rules Committee meeting Tuesday night. Rep. Austin Scott (R-Georgia) said it had caused him to struggle with whether he could support the bill.
“A lot of people, if they look and understand this, they’re going to see this as self-serving, self-dealing kind of stuff, and I don’t think that’s right,” Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) said. “It is beside my comprehension that this got put in the bill. And it’s why people have such a low opinion of this town.”
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Maryland) described it as “one of the most blatantly corrupt provisions for political self-dealing and plunder of public resources ever proposed in the United States Congress.”
The provision briefly appeared to endanger the bill’s passage, threatening to prolong a shutdown that has lasted 43 days. Democrats tried to strip it out.
But the Rules Committee ultimately voted to send the bill to the House floor, where lawmakers are expected to vote on it this evening. The provision is not expected to lead fewer Democrats to support the bill, according to two people familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal caucus dynamics. Most Democrats are expected to vote no.
The Senate passed the bill Monday after Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) and seven Senate Democrats broke with the rest of their party and voted for it. Thune promised Democrats a vote next month on extending Affordable Care Act subsidies set to expire at the end of the year. Democrats had demanded an extension in exchange for voting to reopen the government, but Republicans refused to negotiate on the ACA while the shutdown lasted.
Schumer said he voted against the bill because it only came with Thune’s promise of a vote on the subsidies, not an actual extension.
Democratic Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (New Hampshire) and Maggie Hassan (New Hampshire) and King, who led negotiations with Republicans to reopen the government, were unaware that Thune and Schumer had agreed to include the provision allowing senators to sue over their phone records until it became public, according to two Democratic aides familiar with the matter, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe private talks.
The provision also caught other senators by surprise. Amanda Coyne, a spokeswoman for Sen. Dan Sullivan (Alaska), one of the Republican senators whose phone records were seized, said Sullivan learned of the provision while he and his staff were reading the bill. Sullivan has no plans to sue, she said.
“I am furious that the Senate Minority and Majority Leaders chose to airdrop this provision into this bill at the 11th hour — with zero consultation or negotiation with the subcommittee that actually oversees this work,” Sen. Martin Heinrich (New Mexico), the top Democrat on the legislative branch appropriations subcommittee, said in a statement. “This is precisely what’s wrong with the Senate.”
Sen. Patty Murray (Washington), the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, described the provision as “a corrupt cash bonus of at least $500k each for 8 GOP Senators.”
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