A growing chorus of outraged Republican senators, led by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), are escalating their fight against former Special Counsel Jack Smith and the federal government, vowing a slew of legal challenges and professional complaints over the alleged tracking of their private phone records.
The fury follows a bombshell report revealing that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), under former President Joe Biden’s watch, and Smith’s “Arctic Frost” team allegedly obtained call metadata for at least eight sitting Republican Senators as part of the January 6, 2021, investigation.
The targeted lawmakers were reportedly briefed on the revelations by President Trump’s Deputy Director of the FBI, Dan Bongino.
Legal and Professional Retaliation
Sen. Graham was the first to issue a forceful threat of legal action, declaring he would “sue the crap” out of anyone involved if the monitoring was done without proper cause.
“If they did this without good reason and without cause, I’m going to sue the crap out of these people,” Graham said on Fox News’ “Hannity,” promising to sue “whoever I can” to ensure that such an “abuse of power” is not allowed to go unchecked in the future.
Sen. Blackburn (R-TN), one of the lawmakers whose communications were allegedly tracked, confirmed Tuesday that she is taking steps toward having Smith disbarred. “The FBI under Joe Biden’s watch exercised authority that it did not have,” she stated, adding, “The FBI was rotten to the core under Joe Biden and Chris Wray’s leadership, and I will not let this stand.” RELATED: ‘OUTRAGEOUS’: FBI ‘Spied’ On 8 US Senators In Trump Probe That Became Jack Smith’s Case
Blackburn confirmed to Fox News that her team is preparing a complaint letter to the D.C. Bar Association calling for Smith’s disbarment. “He should be disbarred,” she insisted, noting that “the one thing that we do know is that everyone targeted is a Republican.”
Politically Motivated Investigation Alleged
The Republican lawmakers are uniformly arguing that the investigation and the alleged surveillance were politically weaponized against them and President Trump.
Sen. Graham argued that the entire effort was “orchestrated by Jack Smith, Alvin Bragg, Fanni Willis, Letitia James to destroy this man so he could not win in 2024,” emphasizing that the alleged monitoring occurred in 2023, well after the events of January 6.
Senator Blackburn highlighted a timeline, pointing to the Mar-a-Lago raid in August 2022, followed by the indictment of President Trump in August 2023, and the phone surveillance from the first week of January 2021 as proof of a concerted effort against their party.
Adding to the legal troubles facing Smith, a formal review into his conduct has been launched by the Office of Special Counsel’s (OSC) Hatch Act Unit. The Hatch Act restricts federal employees from engaging in political activity.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), who first penned a letter alleging Smith weaponized his position to undermine President Trump’s election campaign, welcomed the OSC investigation. “Jack Smith’s actions were clearly driven to hurt President Trump’s election, and Smith should be held fully accountable,” Cotton told the New York Post, adding, “This isn’t just unethical, it is very likely illegal campaign activity from a public office.”
The Senators whose call metadata was allegedly scrutinized as part of the “Arctic Frost” probe—which reportedly involved seeing which phone numbers they called, as well as the call’s time and location—include Sens. Graham, Blackburn, Ron Johnson (WI), Josh Hawley (MO), Cynthia Lummis (WY), Bill Hagerty (TN), Dan Sullivan (AK), Tommy Tuberville (AL), and Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA).
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