Sen. Marsha Blackburn filed a lawsuit Wednesday in federal court in Tennessee against former special counsel Jack Smith and the Justice Department, alleging that the prosecutor improperly obtained her phone records while investigating President Trump’s efforts to challenge the 2020 election results.
The lawsuit, filed in Nashville, accuses Smith of a “gross abuse of power” and violating the constitutional separation of powers, the Speech or Debate Clause, the First Amendment right of association and the Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable searches and seizures. Blackburn alleges that Smith subpoenaed the phone records of the Tennessee Republican and eight of her Senate colleagues, then obtained a court order barring Verizon from notifying her about the request.
Blackburn, who is running for governor of Tennessee, is asking the court to declare Smith’s November 2022 appointment by then-Attorney General Merrick Garland unlawful. Her complaint also seeks the destruction or return of any of her records or other materials still held by Smith or the Justice Department.
The disclosure that Smith obtained the phone records came last October from Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who revealed details of the so-called “Arctic Frost” investigation. Along with Blackburn, Sens. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) and Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) reportedly had their addresses, incoming and outgoing call and text records, and payment information turned over to Smith’s team.
Verizon complied with the special prosecutor’s grand jury subpoena, while AT&T rejected a similar request from Smith’s office.
“Verizon willfully handed over my call logs to the Biden FBI without hesitation, empowering Jack Smith’s witch hunt targeting Republicans for political gain,” Blackburn told The Post in a statement at the time.
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“It turns out that activist [DC federal] Judge [James] Boasberg also ordered Verizon not to inform me of the subpoena, falsely claiming I might destroy so-called evidence,” Blackburn said. “There was no criminal predicate, no justification, and no excuse for Verizon aiding Jack Smith’s spying operation, especially when AT&T refused to comply under the same circumstances.”
Blackburn filed the lawsuit a day after Smith testified before the Judiciary Committee, where she is a member, and defended his investigation of the 45th and 47th president.
“Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in serious crimes against our nation,” Smith told lawmakers. “If asked whether to prosecute a former president based on the same facts today, I would do so regardless of whether that president was a Republican or a Democrat.”
Trump faced four charges tied to his effort to remain in power after the 2020 election. The case was put on hold after he defeated Democrat Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.
Also on Wednesday, Hagerty said he had filed a bar complaint against Smith in Tennessee. Before Garland appointed him, Smith had worked as a federal prosecutor and corporate attorney in the state.
“He’s a blatantly partisan actor and his prosecutorial misconduct damaged our constitutional order,” Hagerty wrote about Smith on X. “He should never be able to practice law again.”
