Perry court fight keeping over 2,000 records from Trump investigators
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[February 27, 2023]
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A Republican congressman's court
battle to protect his cellphone records has prevented federal
investigators from reviewing over 2,200 documents in their investigation
of then-President Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the result of the
2020 election, according to newly unsealed court documents.
Judge Beryl Howell, chief judge for the U.S. District Court of the
District of Columbia, unsealed four opinions in which she found that
"powerful public interest" outweighed Republican Representative Scott
Perry's asserted need for secrecy under the U.S. Constitution. The
documents were released late on Friday.
Perry - a Trump ally who helped spread false claims that the 2020
election was stolen through widespread voting fraud - has sought to
prevent the Justice Department from reviewing the contents of his
cellphone since it was seized last summer.
The lawmaker maintains that his cellphone's contents are shielded from
disclosure under a constitutional provision that gives members of
Congress immunity from civil litigation or criminal prosecution for
actions arising in the course of their legislative duties.
Perry's conduct is under scrutiny by Special Counsel Jack Smith's office
because of the prominent role Perry played in the lead-up to the Jan. 6,
2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by thousands of Trump supporters trying
to block Congress from certifying Democrat Joe Biden's election victory.
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U.S. Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) uses a cell
phone while walking to the House Chamber on Capitol Hill in
Washington, U.S., February 2, 2023. REUTERS/Tom Brenner/File Photo
An investigation by the U.S. House of Representatives' Jan. 6
committee last year revealed Perry was in frequent contact with
Trump White House officials in the weeks before the attack.
On Thursday, an attorney for Perry asked an appellate court to
reverse Judge Howell's lower court ruling that his communications
were not within a "legitimate legislative sphere." A Justice
Department attorney urged the judicial panel not to block the
congressman's cellphone from investigators.
Howell had ordered Perry to turn over 2,055 SMS text messages,
emails and attachments out of 2,219 documents contained on his
phone, after concluding that they were only incidentally related to
his status as a lawmaker and not central to that role as a member of
Congress.
She said Perry had sought to protect "random musings with private
individuals" as well as "political discussions with attorneys from a
presidential campaign" and "state legislators concerning hearings
before them about possible local election fraud."
(Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Jonathan
Oatis)
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