Jack Smith wins access to GOP Rep. Scott Perry's phone in election subversion case: report

A cell phone belonging to a congressman and suspected key figure in Donald Trump's alleged bid to subvert the 2020 presidential election is going to be able to be accessed by Justice Department investigators now that a federal judge granted it.

A longstanding battle being fought by Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) to shield his cellphone, with nearly 1,700 records in it, from being able to be opened by Justice took a marked turn with Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, The Washington Post reports.

Perry had argued that the phone, which had been seized by the feds back in August 2022, was protected by what the outlet reported as the Constitution's "speech or debate" clause granting Congress members immunity from criminal investigation when carrying out their official duties.

The FBI was in the process of determining what, if any, was Perry’s involvement with Trump’s criminal indictment for allegedly conspiring to thwart the certification of the 2020 election votes and stop then-President Elect Biden from taking office.

In November, text messages released that revealed Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) had deeper ties to Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark than many had previously reported and expected.

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The fight had judges weighing in on what kind of messages were off-limits versus what a three-judge panel decided were deemed "an integral part" of Perry's consideration.

Boasberg ruled that the messages that were sifted through involved non-legislative efforts in regard to communications that "occurred during the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, 2021,” according to the Post's piece.

The order will now go into a process to determine which messages special counsel Jack Smith and his investigative team can rely on to argue as evidence.