WASHINGTON (CN) — A D.C. Circuit panel determined many of Representative Scott Perry’s conversations with fellow members of Congress and the Trump administration about overturning the 2020 election are protected, and thus cannot be used by special counsel Jack Smith, according to an opinion made public on Wednesday.
The three-judge panel found federal investigators' efforts to gain access to the Pennsylvania Republican’s phone records violated his immunity under the Constitution’s Speech or Debate clause, which shields members of Congress from legal action over their legislative actions.
U.S. Circuit Judges Neomi Rao, Gregory Katsas and Karen Henderson ordered the federal judge who had sided with Smith to reconsider, on a message-by-message basis, whether to shield the congressman’s communications with White House officials and others outside of Congress.
Messages between Perry and other lawmakers about the 2020 election certification vote, and a vote on proposed reform legislation, are “quintessential legislative acts” in the panel’s eyes and are immune.
“While elections are political events, a member’s deliberation about whether to certify a presidential election or how to assess information relevant to legislation about federal election procedures are textbook legislative acts,” wrote Rao, a Donald Trump appointee, in the court’s opinion filed last week under seal.
Henderson, a George H.W. Bush appointee, joined Rao in the opinion.
Katsas, another Trump appointee, filed...
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