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Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Thursday that he plans to sue the Justice Department for $500,000 after learning investigators accessed his phone records without notifying him, a move he called a serious breach of privacy and congressional independence.
“It bothers the hell out of me and I’m going to sue, and I’m going to create opportunities for others to sue that weren’t in the Senate,” Graham told reporters in South Carolina.
Graham’s announcement comes after Congress passed a Senate-backed continuing resolution on Wednesday that reopened the federal government and included a provision allowing senators to seek $500,000 in damages if their phone records were obtained during the investigation that preceded former special counsel Jack Smith’s probe into the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
The measure applies only to senators and only to data requests made on or after Jan. 1, 2022. It also requires the government to notify senators if their records are disclosed to them. House Republicans whose phone data was also reportedly collected are not covered.
Anger over the issue has escalated among Republicans in both chambers. Some House Republicans have threatened to repeal the new legal pathway through a stand-alone bill next week. Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., said he voted against the Senate-to-House measure because of the provision.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., who has said that his phone records were also targeted, signaled Thursday he is prepared to sue Biden administration officials if there are no other consequences.
“Judge Boasberg who granted the Biden DOJ the authority to spy on the phones of Senators should be IMPEACHED,” Tuberville wrote on X.
“Jack Smith, who ordered my phone to be surveilled needs to be DISBARRED and THROWN IN JAIL. If they aren’t, I will sue the living hell out of every Biden official involved in this to make sure this NEVER happens to a conservative again,” he added.
The Justice Department has not commented publicly on Graham’s planned lawsuit or the criticism from other lawmakers.