Supreme Court Says Jan. 6 House Committee Can Take Kelli Ward S Phone And Text Files

  The Supreme Court on Monday cleared the way for the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol to obtain the phone and text records of Arizona Republican Party Chairwoman Kelli Ward.   

  Ward served as a mock elector for Donald Trump in Arizona, one of the states the former president lost but where Republicans rallied to field a pro-Trump electoral roll.   

  Ward argued that the subpoena was too intrusive and violated her First Amendment rights by potentially exposing political connections.  The committee also sought Ward’s testimony.  She invoked her Fifth Amendment rights during the deposition.   

  The justices rejected Ward’s request to freeze the subpoena and lifted a temporary injunction earlier placed on Justice Elena Kagan, who oversees the appeals court that heard the case.   

  Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito would have agreed to block the subpoena, the court said.   

  The move is the latest dispute over January 6 to come before the conservative court.  Last January, the high court cleared the way for the release of presidential records from the Trump White House to the committee.  Only Thomas scored a public vote for Trump.   

  The subpoena from the House Select Committee directs T-Mobile USA, Inc., to release call records from Ward’s phone for the period from Nov. 1, 2020, to Jan. 31, 2021, and sought only times and duration of calls when Ward served as a voter for Trump.   

  Recordings do not include content or location information.  A district court judge ruled against Ward, and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed.   

  “The subpoena is substantially related to the important government interest in investigating the causes of the January 6 attack and protecting future elections from similar threats,” the appeals court said.   

  “The investigation, after all, is not about Ward’s politics.  it is about her involvement in the events leading up to the January 6 attack and seeks to reveal those with whom she communicated in connection with those events,” the appeals court added.  “That some of the individuals contacted by Ward may be members of a political party does not establish that the subpoena is likely to reveal ‘sensitive information about [the party’s] members and supporters”.   

  In the emergency petition filed with Kagan, Ward’s lawyers argued that the case is “unprecedented” with “profound precedential implications for future congressional investigations and First Amendment civil association rights.”   

  If Ward’s phone and text messages are revealed, they added, “congressional investigators will contact every person who contacted her during and immediately after the tumult of the 2020 election.”   

  In response, lawyers for the select committee argued that they sought the phone records because Ward was at the center of several post-election efforts to undermine the popular vote and was “aiding a coup attempt.”   

  “These records will shed light on how Dr.  Ward contributed to the multilateral effort to interfere with the peaceful transition of power and the attack on the US Capitol,” the lawyers wrote.   

  The House noted that Ward told officials in Arizona to stop counting ballots after the 2020 election. He encouraged local officials to contact Trump’s attorney, Sidney Powell; He tried to set up a phone call between Trump and his president. Maricopa County Board of Supervisors; and was among the group that sent fake electoral votes for Trump to Congress.   

  This story has been updated with additional details.   

title: “Supreme Court Says Jan. 6 House Committee Can Take Kelli Ward S Phone And Text Files " ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-30” author: “Tim Voss”

  The Supreme Court on Monday cleared the way for the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol to obtain the phone and text records of Arizona Republican Party Chairwoman Kelli Ward.   

  Ward served as a mock elector for Donald Trump in Arizona, one of the states the former president lost but where Republicans rallied to field a pro-Trump electoral roll.   

  Ward argued that the subpoena was too intrusive and violated her First Amendment rights by potentially exposing political connections.  The committee also sought Ward’s testimony.  She invoked her Fifth Amendment rights during the deposition.   

  The justices rejected Ward’s request to freeze the subpoena and lifted a temporary injunction earlier placed on Justice Elena Kagan, who oversees the appeals court that heard the case.   

  Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito would have agreed to block the subpoena, the court said.   

  The move is the latest dispute over January 6 to come before the conservative court.  Last January, the high court cleared the way for the release of presidential records from the Trump White House to the committee.  Only Thomas scored a public vote for Trump.   

  The subpoena from the House Select Committee directs T-Mobile USA, Inc., to release call records from Ward’s phone for the period from Nov. 1, 2020, to Jan. 31, 2021, and sought only times and duration of calls when Ward served as a voter for Trump.   

  Recordings do not include content or location information.  A district court judge ruled against Ward, and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed.   

  “The subpoena is substantially related to the important government interest in investigating the causes of the January 6 attack and protecting future elections from similar threats,” the appeals court said.   

  “The investigation, after all, is not about Ward’s politics.  it is about her involvement in the events leading up to the January 6 attack and seeks to reveal those with whom she communicated in connection with those events,” the appeals court added.  “That some of the individuals contacted by Ward may be members of a political party does not establish that the subpoena is likely to reveal ‘sensitive information about [the party’s] members and supporters”.   

  In the emergency petition filed with Kagan, Ward’s lawyers argued that the case is “unprecedented” with “profound precedential implications for future congressional investigations and First Amendment civil association rights.”   

  If Ward’s phone and text messages are revealed, they added, “congressional investigators will contact every person who contacted her during and immediately after the tumult of the 2020 election.”   

  In response, lawyers for the select committee argued that they sought the phone records because Ward was at the center of several post-election efforts to undermine the popular vote and was “aiding a coup attempt.”   

  “These records will shed light on how Dr.  Ward contributed to the multilateral effort to interfere with the peaceful transition of power and the attack on the US Capitol,” the lawyers wrote.   

  The House noted that Ward told officials in Arizona to stop counting ballots after the 2020 election. He encouraged local officials to contact Trump’s attorney, Sidney Powell; He tried to set up a phone call between Trump and his president. Maricopa County Board of Supervisors; and was among the group that sent fake electoral votes for Trump to Congress.   

  This story has been updated with additional details.