GOP Senators Snuck a Provision Into the Shutdown Deal Granting Them the Right to Sue Over "Arctic Frost" Invasions of Privacy/Weaponization of Government

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A new provision was quietly inserted into Congress's shutdown deal as part of a broader appropriations bill late Monday, giving lawmakers the right to sue the federal government over the FBI's "Arctic Frost" surveillance campaign that targeted Republican senators and conservative organizations.

Under the new language, senators whose phone records were seized during Special Counsel Jack Smith's probe into the 2020 election can take the government to court -- and claim at least $500,000 per violation. The move comes after revelations that Smith's team, operating under former President Joe Biden's Justice Department, subpoenaed cellphone metadata belonging to GOP senators between January 4 and 7, 2021, as part of the so-called "Arctic Frost" investigation.

"It's designed to put real teeth into federal law that prohibits the executive branch from surveilling the Senate," Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) told the Daily Caller News Foundation. "Arctic Frost was a grotesque abuse of power. It was Joe Biden's Watergate." Cruz added that the measure is "a common sense provision to ensure that no Department of Justice -- Democrat or Republican -- ever does that again."

Cruz, who said last month that AT&T refused to hand over his records but was barred from notifying him due to a court order, is among several senators whose data were secretly subpoenaed. Judge James Boasberg, then chief judge of the D.C. District Court, approved the nondisclosure orders that kept lawmakers in the dark. The new provision would now make such secrecy illegal, requiring service providers to immediately alert a Senate office if its data is requested by federal authorities.

Notably, the measure applies retroactively to 2022, meaning those affected by Smith's subpoenas can pursue damages.

Democrats, however, were quick to protest the late addition. "I'm shocked that a huge change in policy would be dropped into a bill at the last minute, and the first that most senators learn about it is in the press," Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) complained. "That's not lawmaking at a way that representatives can be informed."

GRTWT.