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Special Counsel Jack Smith has just been stopped in his tracks. A federal appeals court ruled that Smith will not be granted access to Rep. Scott Perry’s (R-Pa.) cellphone records due to it going against the Constitution’s “speech and debate” clause.
This clause is put in place in order to protect lawmakers from being hit with legal proceedings while engaged in official duties.
This decision marked the first time an appeals court has held that lawmakers’ cellphones are subject to the same protections as their physical offices and was also the first significant legal setback for Smith in his bid to obtain evidence about involvement by allies of Donald Trump in the then-president’s alleged effort to overturn the 2020 election, according to Politico.
U.S District Judge Neomi Rao wrote in her opinion issued last week that “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”.
Rao was joined by two other judges: Judge Gregory Katsas, who was nominated by President Donald Trump and Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson who was nominated by President George H.W Bush when making this ruling.
This latest ruling which overturned an earlier one from U.S District Judge Beryl Howell that mostly sided with the government’s request for access to Perry’s cellphone info.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan fired off a letter to Smith requesting documents and materials after being accused of using illicit pressure tactics during his investigation and indictments of former President Donald Trump.
Jordan has given Smith a deadline of September 21 to comply with the request or suffer the consequences if he fails to do so.
