Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) sued former special counsel Jack Smith personally on Wednesday, arguing he was never lawfully appointed and unconstitutionally seized her cellphone records under a secret gag order during his “Arctic Frost” investigation, according to Fox News and the Washington Examiner.
Why it matters: The suit is a direct legal test of whether a private citizen named special counsel can wield subpoena power over sitting members of Congress — and it lands one day after Smith told senators under oath that he’d approve the same subpoenas again.
Driving the news:
The suit was filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee by the New Civil Liberties Alliance on Blackburn’s behalf, per the Washington Examiner.
It argues Smith’s November 2022 appointment by then-Attorney General Merrick Garland violated the Constitution’s Appointments Clause because he was a private citizen never confirmed by the Senate.
It claims Smith violated Blackburn’s First and Fourth Amendment rights and the Speech or Debate Clause by subpoenaing her Verizon toll records in May 2023 under a nondisclosure order that hid the seizure from her until October 2025, according to Fox News.
The filing comes the same week Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) lodged a bar complaint against Smith and moved separately against Verizon over the disclosure, per RedState.
By the numbers: Smith’s team issued 197 subpoenas to 34 individuals and 163 businesses, implicating roughly 430 Republican individuals and entities, according to Fox News. Blackburn is seeking just $1 in nominal damages, on top of a court declaration that Smith’s appointment was unconstitutional and an order that the seized records be destroyed.
What they’re saying: “This lawsuit is solely about holding Mr. Smith accountable and ensuring that our nation’s justice system can never again be weaponized against the American people,” Blackburn said, per Fox News. “Through his Arctic Frost witch-hunt that targeted conservatives across America and even the president of the United States, Jack Smith perpetrated one of the worst abuses of government power in our nation’s history.” The NCLA added in its filing that “Jack Smith was illegally named Special Counsel in November of 2022, with Attorney General Merrick Garland handing a private citizen the sweeping powers of a special counsel.”
The other side: Smith defended his conduct under oath a day earlier at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, acknowledging he approved the subpoenas knowing the nondisclosure orders would block lawmakers from invoking the Speech or Debate Clause — and said he had no regrets and would prosecute Trump again if given the chance, per RedState. Neither Smith nor a Justice Department spokesperson has issued a statement responding directly to the lawsuit.
What’s next: A federal judge in Tennessee will now decide whether a former special counsel can be held personally liable for how the investigation was run, while Hagerty’s parallel bar complaint against Smith and FCC complaint against Verizon keep pressure building on separate fronts, per RedState and the Gateway Pundit.
The bottom line: A years-old subpoena fight is now a courtroom test of how far a special counsel’s power reaches over Congress — and whether Jack Smith personally, not just the government, can be made to answer for it.
Go deeper: Fox News | Washington Examiner | RedState | Gateway Pundit