Federal judge orders texts, emails on Rep. Scott Perry's phone be turned over to prosecutors in 2020 election probe
CBSN
Washington — Thousands of communications — including text messages and emails — on the cellphone of Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania can be turned over to federal investigators as part of the special counsel's 2020 election probe into former President Donald Trump and his allies, the chief judge of Washington, D.C.'s federal court ruled Tuesday, overriding the congressman's past claims of constitutional protection.
Chief U.S. District Judge John Boasberg wrote late Tuesday that prosecutors will be permitted to access 1,659 of the more than 2,000 records found on Perry's personal device, which was seized in August 2022.
The data that could now be available to investigators includes communications between Perry and individuals not employed by the federal government "regarding what had occurred during the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, 2021," and messages with then-employees of the Trump administration "regarding the procedures that Vice President Pence must follow under the Electoral Count Act," according to the court order.
