Scott Perry is nervous because of this....
A federal appeals court set limits for a judge to determine what access investigators will have to Rep. Scott Perry's phone. The messages are related to 2020 claims of fraud.
www.usatoday.com
WASHINGTON −
A federal appeals court ruled Rep. Scott Perry’s communications with other lawmakers are
off-limits to Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith, but that a federal judge must review whether to grant prosecutors access to hundreds of records dealing with people outside the House of Representatives.
Smith subpoenaed Perry’s phone records in August 2022 as part of his investigation into Donald Trump.
A grand jury indicted the former president on conspiracy charges he tried to overturn the 2020 election and Trump has pleaded not guilty.
The records could reveal more information about what Perry, R-Pa., and others did while pursuing claims of election fraud after the 2020 election.
Perry had met with Trump and questioned election results in the months after the 2020 election. Perry fought the subpoena by arguing the Constitution’s speech-and-debate clause protected his legislative communications from an executive branch prosecutor.
U.S. District Judge Beryl
Howell ruled that 2,055 records could be released to Smith, while 161 records were properly withheld. Perry appealed, seeking broad protection for all of his phone's records.
The case has been largely fought behind closed doors. But a decision unsealed Wednesday by a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Perry sought too broad a protection, but deserved to keep his legislative messages confidential.
Circuit
Judge Neomi Rao wrote the decision for Circuit
Judges Gregory Katsas and
Karen Henderson, ruling that Howell must review Perry's communications with executive branch officials and others outside Congress before releasing them to Smith.
“When evaluating whether something is a ‘legislative act,” Rao wrote, “the Court will often consider whether protection of the privilege is 'necessary to preserve the integrity of the legislative process.'”