Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., reportedly plans to sue the U.S. Department of Justice and wireless carrier Verizon, seeking damages for unauthorized seizure of his phone records.
The latest development comes from Deseret News reporter Cami Mondeaux in an X post Wednesday.
"Lindsey Graham says he will sue both the Justice Department and Verizon as cellphone provider through the Senate CR provision allowing senators to sue over phone records being seized w/o notice," Mondeaux reported on X.
The newly enacted Senate provision, tucked into a recently passed CR signed by President Donald Trump, allows lawmakers to seek damages for unauthorized seizure of their phone records.
Graham is permitted to claim $500,000 per incident after his call data was obtained without prior notification under the Biden administration's highly criticized Arctic Frost investigation of GOP senators by former special counsel Jack Smith.
"I'm going to sue," Graham said last week, denouncing the Biden DOJ breach of congressional independence. "I want to make it so painful no one ever does this again."
The provision arose after revelations that phone metadata of several Republican senators — including Graham — was accessed during Smith's investigation.
The move has triggered bipartisan criticism: House Republicans argue the measure enriches senators with taxpayer money, while critics say it creates a special legal remedy for lawmakers not available to others.
Graham's plan to sue is the first public declaration of intent to use the law, though a number of other affected senators have indicated they will not pursue damages.
The news also comes as House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, on Wednesday referred attorney Thomas Windom, former senior assistant special counsel to Smith, to the DOJ for possible criminal prosecution, accusing him of obstructing a congressional inquiry by refusing to answer questions in a Sept. 30 deposition.
In a letter dated Nov. 19, 2025, Jordan told Attorney General Pam Bondi that Windom's conduct "obstructed a congressional investigation," citing his repeated refusals to provide information despite receiving written authorization from the Department of Justice to speak freely with investigators.
According to the letter, Windom "declined to answer nearly every single one of the Committee's questions, citing various and shifting justifications," even though the DOJ twice authorized him to provide "unrestricted testimony to the Committee, irrespective of potential privilege."
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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