Fox News legal analyst Gregg Jarrett blasted a new Senate proposal Wednesday that would allow lawmakers to sue the federal government for warrantless searches conducted without their knowledge.
The Daily Caller News Foundation reported that GOP lawmakers added a shutdown-deal provision targeting the Biden FBI’s “Arctic Frost” surveillance effort and giving senators whose phone records were secretly seized a path to sue the government for at least $500,000 per violation. Appearing on “The Evening Edit,” Jarrett said the proposal was unconstitutional, warning it violated basic due-process protections.
“It’s probably not legal. Article 1, Sections 9 and 10 forbid ex post facto laws. You can’t change the law and apply it retroactively without violating due process,” Jarrett told Elizabeth MacDonald.
Jarrett said the measure amounted to a carve-out that benefits only the lawmakers who wrote it.