WASHINGTON – Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) signed off on a potential payday for Republican senators whose phone records were obtained in a Justice Department investigation.
The potential legal windfall is part of the government funding bill President Donald Trump signed into law on Wednesday evening.
The provision caused an uproar in the Capitol, since it was added to must-pass legislation in the Senate at the last minute with no public notice whatsoever, no debate, and no explanation, with even some Republicans describing it as unethical self-dealing.
The provision was added by agreement of Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and Schumer, according to Democratic aides.
“I am furious that the Senate Minority and Majority Leaders chose to airdrop this provision into this bill at the eleventh hour — with zero consultation or negotiation with the subcommittee that actually oversees this work,” Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), the top Democrat on the subcommittee that oversees appropriations for the legislative branch of government, said in a statement to HuffPost.
