U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., speaks at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020 (RNC video screenshot)
All of the members of the federal judiciary in a Tennessee judicial district have run away from a lawsuit brought by Sen. Marsha Blackburn, a Republican from that state, over Jack Smith’s apparently constitutional violations through which he obtained the telephone records of a long list of Republicans members of Congress.
A report at RedState reveals that the district’s chief judge, William L. Campbell, has issued a short order that, “All District Judges of the Middle District of Tennessee have recused in this matter. As such, a District Judge from outside the District will be designated by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. When the designation is made, the case will be reassigned.”
Commented RedState, “That’s the whole explanation. The one-page order doesn’t say why every judge recused, doesn’t identify a conflict, and doesn’t suggest any misconduct. It simply announces that nobody on the district’s bench will hear Blackburn’s case against Smith.”
Blackburn took action to hold Smith accountable for his actions.
But, the report said, Smith was first assistant U.S. Attorney and then Acting U.S. Attorney in the Middle District of Tennessee from 2015 until 2017, when some of those judges were there.
Blackburn’s lawsuit charges that Biden Attorney General Merrick Garland’s original appointment of Smith as special counsel was unconstitutional because Smith was not presidentially appointed and Senate-confirmed and because Congress never enacted a statute authorizing Garland to appoint him to exercise those powers.
She also has pending accusations against Smith over his apparent violations of the Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause, her First Amendment right of association, and her Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable searches and seizures.
“This lawsuit is solely about holding Mr. Smith accountable and ensuring that our nation’s justice system can never again be weaponized against the American people,” Blackburn said when announcing the case. She is seeking declaratory and injunctive relief, the return or destruction of the records obtained during the investigation, and nominal damages, the report said.
RedState continued, “But at the end of the day, it is reasonable that judges would recuse themselves from cases involving someone they know so well. The problem is that it looks on its face like they are dodging a case involving one of their pals.”
WND had reported on Blackburn’s plans to hold Smith accountable.
She charged Smith’s actions violated her personal civil liberties and her protections as a member of Congress.
She cited the 1st and 4th Amendment protections of free speech and privacy, her separation of powers protections and even the Stored Communications Act because her carrier Verizon “retained and turned over information on her geographic locations when she made calls.”
She said, at that time, “It just shows you how Jack Smith and Arctic Frost, they were so out over their skis, and they were out to get President Donald Trump, and they wanted to convict him of conspiracy. And of course, when you look at what they were doing with us, they were probably looking for obstruction or co-conspirator charges…”
Of course, Smith was a point man for the Democrats’ lawfare agenda against Trump, those multiple lawfare cases they created in their scheming to prevent him from running for president against in 2024, or even staying out of jail.
“As part of Jack Smith’s weaponized witch hunt, the Biden DOJ issued subpoenas to several telecommunications companies in 2023 regarding our cell phone records, gaining access to the time, recipient, duration, and location of calls placed on our devices from January 4, 2021, to January 7, 2021,” Blackburn charged.
The letter continued, “We have yet to learn of any legal predicate for the Biden Department of Justice issuing subpoenas to obtain these cell phone records.”
In fact, Smith pursued not only the records of members of Congress, but communications among members of the legacy news media, and he obtained copies of checks nearly 5,000 Trump supporters wrote when they donated, meaning he had copies of their original signatures, bank account numbers and more.
Continue reading...
[ H/T WorldNetDaily ]
