Blackburn Sues Jack Smith Over Phone Records as Speech or Debate Fight Reopens 2023 Precedent
Updated
Updated · POLITICO · Sep 30
Blackburn Sues Jack Smith Over Phone Records as Speech or Debate Fight Reopens 2023 Precedent
3 articles · Updated · POLITICO · Sep 30
Summary
Sen. Marsha Blackburn sued Jack Smith after his team obtained her phone records, arguing the seizure violated the Constitution’s speech or debate clause protecting lawmakers’ official work from prosecutorial scrutiny.
Smith has said the effort to obtain lawmakers’ records was approved by the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section and complied with department rules, setting up a direct clash between DOJ procedure and congressional immunity claims.
The case could test how courts remedy a speech-or-debate violation after investigators have already accessed records, a question former House counsel Stan Brand said merits judicial review.
A 2023 D.C. Circuit ruling let Smith’s team review some records from Rep. Scott Perry’s phone but required a fact-specific review to wall off material deemed legislative in nature.