U.S. Supreme Court denies delaying release of Kelli Ward phone records to Jan. 6 committee - The Arizona Republic

The U.S. Supreme Court connected Monday declined a petition by Kelli Ward, the caput of the Arizona Republican Party, to hold the merchandise of her compartment telephone records to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, riot astatine the U.S. Capitol.

Ward had appealed an bid from a national justice successful Phoenix that her compartment telephone company, T-Mobile, indispensable crook implicit the logs of her telephone calls and substance messages to the committee. She argued that the merchandise should beryllium delayed until her appeals process goes through.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals denied that injunction. Ward past filed a petition for the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene.

The ruling Monday noted that Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito would person granted the enactment and injunction of the release. Presumably, that would mean the different 7 justices did not deliberation the merchandise of the records needed to beryllium delayed.

The House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, riot astatine the U.S. Capitol asked successful January for a log of Ward’s telephone enactment from November 2020 done January 2021.

That covered a span of clip successful which then-President Donald Trump worked with a squad of advisors to support the 2020 predetermination results, which had him losing to Joe Biden, successful a authorities of flux.

More: Arizona Republican Party caput Kelli Ward aided a 'coup,' Jan. 6 committee says

Ward, during that time, communicated with elected officials successful Maricopa County who were acceptable to canvass the election, a process that officially closes the publication connected the ballot tally.

Ward besides was portion of a radical of Republicans who met astatine enactment office successful December 2020 and signed documents falsely asserting that they represented Arizona’s votes successful the Electoral College. The slate of alternate electors sent the documents to the National Archives and to Congress wherever they were summarily ignored.

Ward, successful tribunal filings, has said the committee shouldn’t beryllium capable to spot her telephone records due to the fact that she is simply a doc astatine a aesculapian value nonaccomplishment clinic. Producing the records would interruption her patients’ privateness rights, her lawyers argued successful tribunal filings.

Ward besides said that producing the records would forestall Republicans from communicating with her successful the aboriginal for fearfulness their communications would result in scrutiny from national investigators.

Neither statement swayed the courts.

An lawyer for the committee has argued that investigators could not hold for the appeals process to play out. The briefing docket outlined by the 9th Circuit tribunal extended into 2023 and the committee was presently lone empowered to conscionable until the adjacent Congress is seated successful January.

The committee has said, successful a filing with the U.S. Supreme Court that it needs the telephone records to found “when and with what frequence she communicated with individuals known to beryllium applicable to the Select Committee’s investigation.”

Ward invoked her Fifth Amendment close to not springiness grounds that could implicate her successful a transgression erstwhile she testified, nether subpoena, earlier the Select Committee, according to tribunal testimony.

Some of Ward’s communications with officials are known.

According to records The Republic obtained from Maricopa County successful 2021, Ward sent a connection to Maricopa County Supervisor Clint Hickman connected Nov. 13, 2020, arranging a telephone telephone with Trump.

“Just a cheque successful from the President of the United States,” she wrote. “... So I conjecture that means you could/should instrumentality the call.”

Ward besides sent a substance to Supervisor Bill Gates the greeting the committee was acceptable to o.k. the results, asking him not to bash so.

"I cognize the Republican committee doesn’t privation to beryllium remembered arsenic the entity who led the complaint to certify a fraudulent election,” she wrote.

Ward, according to emails obtained by the New York Times, besides spoke by telephone with Rudy Giuliani, the erstwhile New York politician and Trump attorney, successful December 2020 astir the program to convene alternate electors successful Arizona and respective different states.

According to an email written by Kenneth Chesbro, different lawyer moving for the Trump campaign, Ward had expressed interest the alternate elector program mightiness beryllium “treasonous.” Ward, on with then-state Rep. Kelly Townsend, asked that determination beryllium a pending tribunal enactment filed, lending plausibility to wherefore Arizona felt the request to convene a 2nd slate of electors.

The convening of alternate electors was portion of a multi-state program to springiness Vice President Mike Pence an enactment to hold oregon overturn the predetermination results, committee grounds has revealed. With competing slates of electors, the mentation went, Pence could perchance usage provisions outlined successful the U.S. Constitution to propulsion the question of who should beryllium president to the U.S. House of Representatives.

On the greeting of Jan. 6, 2021, the time a associated league of Congress acceptable to number the Electoral College votes, Pence announced helium would not spell on with the plan.

His determination rippled done the assemblage of Trump supporters who had near a Trump code and were marching toward the U.S. Capitol. Video footage showed respective successful the assemblage started a chant: “Hang Mike Pence.”

T-Mobile, Ward’s compartment telephone company, past week asked for a ruling clarifying the records it was being asked to produce. But, successful a tribunal proceeding successful Phoenix, an lawyer for the compartment telephone company, said T-Mobile would comply with the subpoena erstwhile ordered.