CHARLESTON — U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham plans to sue the Justice Department under a special provision added to the shutdown deal that allows senators to seek $500,000 in damages if investigators search their phone records without notice.

The added legislation opens the door for eight senators whose records were sought after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot to uniquely benefit by seeking compensation.

“It bothers the hell out of me and I'm going to sue, and I'm going to create opportunities for others to sue that weren't in the Senate,” Graham told reporters Nov. 13.

He called what happened to him and at least seven other GOP senators “worse than Watergate.”

The measure was added in the bill that ended the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. It would allow the senators to sue the federal

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