Deal to end US shutdown would also allow some Republican senators to seek $500,000 for January 6 probe

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Legislation moving through Congress that would end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history would also allow eight Republican senators to seek hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages for alleged privacy violations stemming from the Biden administration’s investigation of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

The bill, which passed the Senate on Monday, includes a clause that would allow lawmakers whose phone records were subpoenaed as part of that probe to sue the Justice Department for damages.

The legislation retroactively makes it illegal in most cases to obtain a senator’s phone data without disclosure, and allows those whose records were obtained to sue the Justice Department for $500,000 per violation, along with attorneys’ fees and c