Senator Marsha Blackburn isn’t staying quiet about the way her private data was handled. On Wednesday, the Tennessee Republican filed a lawsuit in a Nashville federal court against the Department of Justice and former special counsel Jack Smith. Real talk: she’s claiming that Smith went way over the line by secretly grabbing her call logs while he was investigating efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
According to the lawsuit, Smith’s team subpoenaed the phone records of Blackburn and eight of her colleagues—including Senators Bill Hagerty, Rick Scott, Lindsey Graham, Josh Hawley, Tommy Tuberville, Ron Johnson, Dan Sullivan, and Cynthia Lummis, plus Representative Mike Kelly. The drama started back in October 2025 when Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley revealed that the DOJ had secured these records, which included everything from text history to payment info.
The “Arctic Frost” controversy
Blackburn’s suit alleges a "gross abuse of power," pointing out that a D.C. federal judge ordered her carrier, Verizon, to keep the subpoena on the down-low. The judge reportedly feared she might destroy evidence, a claim Blackburn is highkey calling out as totally baseless. While Verizon complied with the request, it turns out AT&T actually told the special prosecutor ‘say less’ and refused to hand over similar data.
Blackburn is now asking the court to declare that Smith’s 2022 appointment by then-Attorney General Merrick Garland was illegal from the jump. She also wants any of her materials still held by the DOJ to be destroyed or returned. This legal move comes hot on the heels of Smith’s appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee—a panel Blackburn actually sits on—where he stood by his investigation into the 45th and 47th president, saying he’d still prosecute him today regardless of his party.
Why it matters
This case is a major escalation in the ongoing fight over how government investigations access the private records of elected officials. It’s giving major tension between legislative oversight and executive power, and it’s likely to be a central talking point as Blackburn continues her run for Tennessee governor.
