Senate Republicans quietly added a provision to legislation passed to reopen the federal government that could lead to large payouts for several party members.

If the legislation becomes law, the language would allow Republican senators to sue the federal government for purportedly getting ahold of their private data without proper notification. The legislation provides for compensation of up to $500,000 in each case.

The unusual provision seeks to compensate the eight Republican senators who had their information accessed during former special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation of President Donald Trump. During that investigation, phone records for the eight senators were obtained by the FBI as Smith’s office looked into attempts by Trump to illegally overturn the 2020 election, which h

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