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The GOP senators in question are Lindsey Graham (SC), Marsha Blackburn (TN), Bill Hagerty (TN), Josh Hawley (MO), Dan Sullivan (AK), Tommy Tuberville (AL), Ron Johnson (WI), and Cynthia Lummis (WI).

The language in the bill reportedly came directly from Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD).

"Because the provision is retroactive to 2022, it would appear to make eligible the eight lawmakers whose phone records were subpoenaed by investigators for Mr. Smith as he examined efforts by Donald J. Trump to obstruct the results of the 2020 presidential election."

The provision in the bill imposes new restrictions that would require senators to receive notice of their records being sought and bars judges from preventing that notice. Most controversially, it retroactively allows senators targeted by Smith to sue the federal government, the NYT reports:

As part of his Jan. 6 probe, Smith properly subpoenaed the toll records of some GOP members of Congress. In recent weeks, Republicans have resurfaced this fact and morphed it into a Deep State conspiracy theory, exaggerating what Smith obtained and trying to turn it into a constitutional clash.

Morning Memo, chronicling the three horsemen of the Trump II apocalypse: retribution, destruction, and corruption:

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Trump’s pardon proclamation stands as a landmark in the revisionist history of the 2020 election and its aftermath. It purports to “end a grave national injustice perpetrated on the American people” and “continue the process of national reconciliation.”

The pardons were preemptive. While some of those involved in the fake electors scheme were charged in various state prosecutions, only Trump was charged federally in connection with subverting the 2020 election. The federal case against Trump was dropped after he was re-elected a year ago.

Among the big names in the latest round of pardons:

Rudy Giuliani
Kenneth Chesebro
Jeffrey Clark
John Eastman
Jenna Ellis
Boris Epshteyn
Mark Meadows
Sidney Powell

Trump explicitly excluded himself from the list: “This pardon does not apply to the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump.”

The pardons complete Trump’s promise to vindicate his co-conspirators in the first non-peaceful transfer of executive power in American history. Trump had already issued pardons or commutations for some 1,500 participants in the Jan. 6 attack, including 14 members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers.

Trump granted “full, complete, and unconditional” pardons for 77 people involved in the fake electors scheme and others aspects of the 2020 subversion effort on Nov. 7, but they were not publicized. Instead, U.S. pardon attorney Ed Martin revealed the pardons in a post on X late last night.

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"On Monday, Roberts reassigned his chief of staff, Ryan Neuhaus, to a lower-ranking role. By Tuesday, Neuhaus was no longer employed by Heritage. On Wednesday, Roberts called him a 'good man' who 'made a mistake,' and said he was largely responsible for drafting Roberts’s controversial remarks."

While Roberts has backed away some from his initial full-throated defense of Carlson, his apology didn’t keep a staff meeting at Heritage on Wednesday from turning into a shitshow.

Roberts threw his own chief of staff under bus the for writing the speech that got Roberts in so much hot water:

Morning Memo, chronicling the depredations of the Trump II presidency:

morningmemo.talkingpointsmemo.com

3) It can’t be said often enough that before this year, the FBI had one political position: the director. Everyone else held career positions. The purging of career FBI employees without cause or due process is unlawful. There have been dozens (and maybe more) unlawful firings.

...Agents can’t be quickly replaced, and loyalty will be the decisive factor for new hires.

2) Combined with the dismantling of DOJ’s Public Integrity Section, the FBI purges hamstring the investigation and prosecution of white-collar crimes, especially public corruption cases. That’s no accident.

A few reflections:

1) By being brought under the thumb of the Trump White House, the FBI has lost its independence, esprit de corps, and significant functional capacity. The senior agent ranks — where taxpayers see the return on years of training and experience — have been ransacked. ...