Senators subpoenaed in election interference probe can sue under shutdown bill

Bart Jansen, USA TODAY

Updated Tue, November 11, 2025 at 3:25 PM UTC

2 min read

WASHINGTON − The compromise legislation to reopen the government includes a provision allowing senators whose phone records were subpoenaed during the Justice Department investigation of alleged election interference to each sue the government for up to $500,000.

Special counsel Jack Smith subpoenaed the phone records of GOP Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming during his investigation of President Donald Trump after the 2020 election.

None of the senators were charged. Smith dropped charges against Trump after he was elected president a second time, under longstanding department policy against prosecuting sitting presidents.

Travelers wait in line at a security checkpoint at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois on November 7 2025. Hundreds of flights were canceled across the United States on Friday after the Trump administration ordered reductions to ease strain on air traffic controllers who are working without pay amid congressional paralysis on funding the US budget. Forty airports were due to slow down, including the giant hubs in Atlanta, Newark, Denver, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles.

A traveler sits in front of departure display screens showing a small number of cancellations of flights at Denver International Airport on Nov. 9. 2025.

People enjoy the weather at the closed National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, on Oct. 20, 2025. The US government shutdown dragged into a third week, with Congress gridlocked in a clash over spending and no resolution in sight to a crisis that has already cost thousands of jobs.

A child peers into the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, which closed after the prior year’s funding it was using to remain open temporarily, ran out during the continuing U.S. government shutdown in Washington, D.C., Oct. 12, 2025.

The Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, DC is closed to visitors temporarily as the U.S. federal government shutdown drags on, along with other Smithsonian Museums on Oct. 13, 2025. The Smithsonian Institution drew on funds from the prior year to stay open for 11 days after the shutdown began on Oct. 1.

Visitors to the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum find its doors are closed due to the continuing U.S. government shutdown in Washington, D.C., Oct. 13, 2025.

The U.S. Capitol behind construction sandbags in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 8, 2025, the eighth day of the federal government shutdown.

A woman walks past a sign indicating the Smithsonian's National Gallery of Art is closed as the federal government continues its shutdown Oct. 6, 2025, in Washington, DC.

A view of North Capitol Street and the U.S. Capitol's rotunda as the federal government continues its shutdown on Oct. 6, 2025, in Washington, DC.

The Cades Cove Visitor Center,Cades Cove and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Blount County, Tenn., reopened during the government shutdown thanks to a group of local and state leaders. Oct. 4, 2025.

A man is reflected on the window door to the entrance of the New Bedford Whaling National Historic Park Visitor Center in New Bedford, Mass., as he crosses William Street. The tape hides hours of operation due to the center being closed due to government shutdown.

(L-R) A group of friends and family traveling on a road trip, Harriett Green of Milford, New Jersey, Eveyn Hauck of Bangor, Pennsylvania, Colleen Abahazy of Easton, Pennsylvania, and Sharon Reuss of Easton, Pennsylvania, look through the locked gate to Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine on Oct. 3, 2025 in Baltimore, Md. The fort is closed due to the government shutdown that began early Wednesday after Congress failed to reach a funding deal.

People visit the Smithsonian National Zoo as the US government is shut down for the second day on October 2, 2025 in Washington, DC. Efforts to swiftly end the US government shutdown collapsed October 1, 2025 as Democrats in Congress went home without resolving an acrimonious funding stand-off with President Donald Trump and the White House threatened public sector jobs. Smithsonian institutions receive federal funding and shut down during a federal government. The Smithsonian, a federal government entity, says on its website that it will use money from the last fiscal year’s budget to stay open at least through Monday, Oct. 6.

A would-be visitor looks into the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum which is closed, on the first day of a partial U.S. government shutdown, in Boston, Mass. on Oct.1, 2025.

The United States Capitol seen on the morning of the first day of the federal government shutdown on Oct.1, 2025 after President Donald Trump and congressional leaders failed to reach a funding compromise.

Tinker Air Force Base is pictured in Oklahoma City, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. The base employs thousands of civilian employees and is the largest employer in the city's metro area. Many will be impacted by the shutdown.

People wait in line to enter the Federal Building in Los Angeles, California on October 1, 2025, where services are experiencing significant disruptions due to the federal government shutdown, as essential workers continue working without pay and non-essential federal workers are furloughed.

The United States Park Service place a notice on the visitors entry door notifying of the closing of the Washington Monument to visitors on the first day of the federal government shutdown on October 1, 2025.

Members of the National Guard patrol along the grounds of the US Capitol on the first day of the US government shutdown in Washington, DC, on October 1, 2025. Essential services, like military and law enforcement, remain working.

A man walks past Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site which is closed on the first day of a partial U.S. government shutdown in New York City, New York, October 1, 2025.

Travelers pass through a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) security screening at Hollywood Burbank Airport during the first day of a partial U.S. government shutdown in Burbank, California, October 1, 2025.

The United States Courthouse in White Plains, N.Y. remained open Oct. 1, 2025 even with the shutdown of the federal goverment.

The United States Capitol Rotunda and the United States Capitol closed to tours on the first day of the federal government shutdown on October 1, 2025 after President Donald Trump and congressional leaders failed to reach a funding compromise.

A U.S. Park Service employee cleans up trash on the National Mall on the first day of the government shutdown on October 1, 2025 in Washington, DC.

A child tries to look inside the visitor center of the Washington Monument, which is closed because of a partial government shutdown, in Washington, D.C., October 1, 2025.

Tourists stand outside the entrance to the Capitol Visitors Center, which is closed due to the federal government shut down, on October 1, 2025 in Washington, DC.

U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) sits on the steps of the U.S. Capitol on October 1, 2025 in Washington, DC.

The Library of Congress is closed to visitors during the federal government shut down on October 1, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Visitors look through the window of the closed U.S. Botanical Gardens during the federal government shut down on October 1, 2025 in Washington, DC.

A worker locks the gate to the entrance of Everglades National Park Shark Valley due to the government shutdown on October 1, 2025, in Everglades National Park, Florida. The park will remain open to visitors, but with minimal staffing. The U.S. government shut down at midnight, with President Donald Trump and Democrats blaming each other for failing to reach an agreement.

The Internal Revenue Office in White Plains, N.Y. remained open Oct. 1, 2025 even with the shutdown of the federal goverment.

The Social Security office in White Plains, N.Y. remained open Oct. 1, 2025 even with the shutdown of the federal goverment.

A person walks by the African Burial Ground National Monument Visitor Center, which is closed on the first day of a partial U.S. government shutdown, in New York City, October 1, 2025.

People look up at the Washington Monument ticket office window with a notice of closure following the United States Park Service placing a note on the ticket office window notifying of the closing of the Washington Monument to visitors on the first day of the federal government shutdown on October 1, 2025.

A man walks across the otherwise empty U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, closed to the public on the first day of a partial U.S. government shutdown, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., October 1, 2025.

A Park Closed sign in the driveway for the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum in Hyde Park, N.Y. on October 1, 2025. All of the facilities on site are closed, but the grounds are currently open to the public, however there are no rest rooms, nor will trash be collected.

Denise McGregor peers through a window to catch a glimpse inside the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site in Topeka, on Oct. 1, 2025. Due to the shutdown the building was closed.

Stones River National Battlefield, in Murfreesboro, Tenn. is currently closed on Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025, due to a partial government shutdown.

A sign referring to the federal government shutdown is hung on the door on Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025 at the Natural Resources Conservation Service Office in Oklahoma City.

A sign indicating that the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum is closed due to a lapse in federal appropriations on October 1, 2025.

A Park Closed sign in the driveway for the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum on October 1, 2025. All of the facilities on site are closed, but the grounds are currently open to the public, however there are no rest rooms, nor will trash be collected.

See the impact of the government shutdown as agencies shutter or fight to stay open

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Travelers wait in line at a security checkpoint at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois on November 7 2025. Hundreds of flights were canceled across the United States on Friday after the Trump administration ordered reductions to ease strain on air traffic controllers who are working without pay amid congressional paralysis on funding the US budget. Forty airports were due to slow down, including the giant hubs in Atlanta, Newark, Denver, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles.

The legislation waives the government’s immunity from lawsuits for the subpoenas, after the Senate Judiciary Committee publicized the subpoenas recently .

"What I’ve uncovered today is disturbing and outrageous political conduct by the Biden FBI," Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said in revealing the subpoenas Oct. 6.

Graham called the investigation a coup on Fox News and told conservative broadcaster Hugh Hewitt the probe "stinks to high heaven." Blackburn and others have demanded hearings on the investigation.

Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith arrives to make a statement to reporters about the 37 federal charges returned by a grand jury in an indictment of former President Donald Trump on charges of unauthorized retention of classified documents and conspiracy to obstruct justice at Smith' offices in Washington, D.C. on June 9, 2023.

But Smith's lawyers said the subpoenas were revealed in a footnote of his report detailing the results of his investigation . In an Oct. 21 letter to Grassley , Smith's lawyers said the subpoenas were narrowly tailored to cover a couple of days before and after the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021. The records covered the phone numbers involved, the length and time of calls, Smith wrote.

"The subpoena’s limited temporal range is consistent with a focused effort to confirm or refute reports by multiple news outlets that during and after the January 6 riots at the Capitol, President Trump and his surrogates attempted to call Senators to urge them to delay certification of the 2020 election results," wrote lawyers Lanny Breuer and Peter Koski.

A new ad airing Nov. 11 in Indianapolis from conservative nonprofit Club for Growth, pictured here on a laptop screen, urges voters to tell their state senators to support President Donald Trump's redistricting push.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Connecticut, called the legislative provision "outrageous" on social media Nov. 11 and a way for Trump to "write a check of millions of dollars" to senators who would get rich off "taxpayer money."

The bill comes after Trump sued the government seeking $230 million for the same investigation.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Shutdown bill allows senators to sue over subpoenaed phone records

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