Reuters
By Sarah N. Lynch and Jacqueline Thomsen
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Justice Department attorneys were expected to urge a federal appeals court on Thursday to let investigators search a Republican congressman's cellphone as part of Special Counsel Jack Smith's probe into efforts by then-President Donald Trump to overturn the result of the 2020 election.
U.S. Representative Scott Perry - a Trump ally who helped spread his fellow Republican's false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him through widespread voting fraud - has sought to block the Department of Justice (DOJ) from reviewing the contents of his cellphone since it was seized last summer.
Perry's lawyers, John Rowley and John Irving, were seen in the lobby of the federal courthouse in Washington early Thursday morning.
At the heart of the legal dispute is whether the contents of his cellphone are shielded from disclosure under the U.S. Constitution's speech and debate clause. That provision gives Congress members immunity from civil litigation or criminal prosecution for actions that arise in the course of their legislative duties.
Perry's attorneys will argue that his communications with the White House and others are covered by this provision and should be shielded from the DOJ.
Thursday's oral arguments will be presented before a panel of three Republican-appointed appellate judges.
Perry's conduct is under scrutiny because of the prominent role he played in the lead-up to the Jan. 6, 2021,...
This story is the second in an ongoing series on the Cost of Fraud, as Open the Books tallies the hidden fees on American tax returns. Click here to read the first story on fraudulent autism billi...