Senate Republicans are rightfully angry that former special counsel Jack Smith seized the phone records of at least eight of their colleagues as part of his overzealous investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election. They were so irate about the prosecutorial overreach against the legislative branch, however, that they snuck a provision into the bill to reopen the government this week that would allow these senators to collect $500,000 in taxpayer-funded damages, plus legal fees.
Senate Republicans are rightfully angry that former special counsel Jack Smith seized the phone records of at least eight of their colleagues as part of his overzealous investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election. They were so irate about the prosecutorial overreach against the legislative branch, however, that they snuck a provision into the bill to reopen the government this week that would allow these senators to collect $500,000 in taxpayer-funded damages, plus legal fees.
This outraged many House Republicans. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) called it “a really bad look.” Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) described it as “self-serving” and “self-dealing.” Even some hardcore MAGA members, including Reps. Lauren Boebert (Colorado) and Anna Paulina Luna (Florida), ripped the giveaway.
The House opted not to remove the provision from the 392-page bill to reopen the government because that would have required it to pass back through the Senate. But Johnson vowed to fast-track a standalone bill, as early as next week, to repeal what are effectively $500,000 bonuses. To combat cynicism, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota) would be wise to bring that to the floor as quickly as possible. This might be challenging for him because several members in Thune’s conference, including Sens. Lindsey Graham (South Carolina) and Marsha Blackburn (Tennessee), have expressed a desire to file suit.
Nevertheless, the prospect of lawmakers using must-pass bills to enrich themselves is unseemly and unfair. Wealthy and powerful politicians whose data gets swept up in government probes should not be eligible for special relief that is unavailable to regular Americans.
That said, the bar for the executive branch to collect communications from the legislative branch needs to be extremely high. Smith appears to have cast too wide a net in his determination to establish a conspiracy in the lead up to Jan. 6, 2021. Congress has every right to exercise rigorous oversight, and Smith should be questioned aggressively about his decision-making during a public hearing. Lawfare should never pay for anyone.
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