Chief Counsel Discusses A Judges Decision In Debated Case

By
Billy Costigan
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The slow-motion implosion of the DOJ’s credibility just found a new flashpoint — and this time, it’s in the form of an Obama-appointed federal judge who may have crossed the line from legal discretion to outright lawlessness.

Chief Judge James Boasberg of the D.C. District Court signed sealed orders in 2023 that blocked major telecom companies from notifying eleven Republican lawmakers — including sitting U.S. Senators — that Special Counsel Jack Smith was seeking their private phone records. Not just calls, but also voicemails, text message logs, and metadata.

And he did this just days after January 6, as Smith was building his now-defunct criminal case against President Donald Trump.

The fact that a federal judge effectively greenlit the secret surveillance of U.S. Senators without giving them a chance to challenge the subpoena is disturbing on its face. But legal experts now say Boasberg may have violated federal law in the process.


As Mike Fragoso, former chief counsel to Sen. Mitch McConnell, pointed out, there’s a specific federal statute that forbids telecom companies from being gagged when it comes to official Senate communications. The idea is simple: the Executive Branch can’t secretly dig into Congressional records. It’s a basic firewall of constitutional separation — and Judge Boasberg appears to have torched right through it.

“If Smith or Boasberg violated that statute,” Fragoso wrote, “it’s a very serious problem that probably justifies a bar investigation and could predicate an impeachment inquiry.”

Let that sink in: a federal judge may have violated the law in order to facilitate a politically motivated DOJ fishing expedition targeting one-fifth of the Republican Senate caucus. This isn’t just a lapse in judgment — it’s the kind of judicial overreach that should terrify anyone who still believes in representative government.

Sen. Ted Cruz said it best: “Judge Boasberg put his robe down, stood up, and said ‘sign me up’ to be part of the partisan vendetta against 20% of Republicans in the Senate.”

This wasn’t a rogue prosecutor quietly poking around. This was a coordinated effort to weaponize federal power to gather dirt on political opponents — and to do it behind closed doors.

And Smith didn’t stop at senators. Rep. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania was also targeted. This was a dragnet operation in every sense, a legal ambush disguised as standard procedure.

Even more damning: when AT&T raised concerns about the legality of the subpoenas — specifically when it came to members of Congress — Smith’s office backed down. But Verizon, less cautious, complied, turning over data that may now become central to a looming constitutional fight.


Smith’s attorneys insist the subpoenas were “lawful and proper.” But their credibility has already been shredded by a series of aggressive, politically timed prosecutions that collapsed once voters delivered Donald Trump back to the White House in 2024.

Smith’s case? Dropped.

The backlash, however, is just beginning.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, whose records were among those targeted, has already demanded a Watergate-style investigation into Boasberg and Smith, and said the actions “amount to legal slander.”

Multiple House Republicans, including Reps. Brandon Gill, Chip Roy, and Eric Schmitt, are now openly drafting or calling for articles of impeachment against Boasberg, with some citing a broader pattern of judicial activism that flouts the Constitution.

Make no mistake: this is no longer about Trump. This is about whether any judge, any prosecutor, or any unelected bureaucrat can override constitutional protections in the name of partisan retribution — and get away with it.

The line between oversight and overreach has not just been crossed — it’s been obliterated.

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