I’m neither a historian nor particularly interested in Roman history, but the stories of Roman corruption, while usually centered on Roman emperors, I’m sure also came from the Roman Senate – and might have resembled this one from Steve Benen:
After Congress ended last fall’s government shutdown, the public learned of a provocative provision that Senate Republicans had slipped into the package. Under the language in the bill, GOP senators whose phone records were searched as part of special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into the Capitol riots of Jan. 6, 2021, would have the ability to file lucrative lawsuits. (Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas told Politico that it was Senate Majority Leader John Thune himself who made sure this provision was included in the final bill.)
Even by contemporary congressional standards, it was a brazen move — in part because the GOP’s “Arctic Frost” claims appear baseless, in part because the provision was added to the legislation in secret, and in part because it’s rare to see senators empower themselves to file dubious lawsuits in which they would personally be rewarded with taxpayer money.
The supposed damages refer to the subpoena of toll records during investigation of the January 6th Insurrection, not conversations:
Each carrier that offers or bills toll telephone service shall retain for a period of 18 months such records as are necessary to provide the following billing information about telephone toll calls: the name, address, and telephone number of the caller, telephone number called, date, time and length of the call. Each carrier shall retain this information for toll calls that it bills whether it is billing its own toll service customers for toll calls or billing customers for another carrier. [Legal Information Institute]
The House, unanimously, passed legislation to repeal this ridiculous proviso on Thursday. Good for them. Right now, those GOP Senators standing to benefit from that law look like Figures of Corruption. My understanding is this legislation won’t even receive a hearing in the Senate; the House has now added the proviso to a spending bill that must pass; will the Parliamentarian permit this, or rule it out of order?
If they do, then hopefully judges will rule no harm, no foul, no standing to sue. And for those Senators who still have a fading hope of a legacy and still think they can use this corrupt law, they’d best hope the judge rules against them.
