GOP Rep Ordered to Hand Over 1,600 Messages in Trump Election Probe
Discussions about how to overturn an election are not protected communications, a federal judge ruled.
Tom Brenner/Reuters
A federal judge has ordered Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) to disclose more than 1,600 communications related to the probe into Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ruled that Perry’s messages, involving discussions with members of Congress, Trump administration officials, and external allies, are not protected under the “speech or debate” clause of the Constitution, which is meant to shield legislative work from prosecutorial scrutiny.
Perry is understood to have acted as a liaison for Trump and his supporters in the chaotic weeks before the end of the former president’s term.
The judge’s decision effectively upholds a ruling by U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell, which also required Perry to disclose the messages, but which Perry appealed. Politico reports that Perry’s legal team has not decided whether to appeal the latest ruling. The ruling said efforts to challenge election outcomes and influence executive decisions are not legislative activities and therefore are not protected from legal inquiry.
The FBI had previously seized Perry’s phone in relation to the investigation of Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark, a Trump ally. Perry had pushed for Clark’s promotion within the Justice Department as part of an attempt to cast doubt on the election results. This move was reportedly abandoned after the threat of mass resignations from DOJ and White House officials.
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