Package to Reopen Government Would Let Senators Sue Over Phone Searches

The package states that the federal government waives sovereign immunity, a principle that often protects federal officers against litigation.

Then-special counsel Jack Smith at the Justice Department in Washington on Aug. 1, 2023. Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images

Some senators could receive millions of dollars over former special counsel Jack Smith’s accessing of their phone records, under a provision included in the package to reopen the government.

The package states in part that “any Senator whose Senate data, or the Senate data of whose Senate office, has been acquired, subpoenaed, searched, accessed, or disclosed in violation of this section may bring a civil action against the United States if the violation was committed by an officer, employee, or agent of the United States or of any Federal department or agency.”