Judge Denies Temporary Block to Jan. 6 Subpoena During Appeal

A screenshot taken from the video of Kelli Ward speaking of appealing the election integrity case after Arizona’s Supreme Court rejected their lawsuit, to the U.S. Supreme Court, on Nov. 11, 2020. Screenshot/NTD Television

A Phoenix federal judge on Friday refused Arizona GOP Chair Kelli Ward’s request to put on hold her own previously issued court order that allowed the Jan. 6 Committee to access the Republican leader’s phone records.

Last month, U.S. District Court Judge Diane J. Humetewa, an Obama appointee, dismissed Ward’s lawsuit which argued that handing over her phone records to the House Jan. 6 Committee would violate medical privacy laws and infringe on her constitutional rights.

In her ruling, Humetewa concluded that the phone records “may aid” the committee’s investigation. Ward decided to appeal the decision and her attorney requested the court to temporarily block the subpoena issued by the Jan. 6 Committee while the appeal is pending.

On Oct. 7, Humetewa refused the request, noting that the appeals court will only get to the case after the Jan. 6 committee is scheduled to dissolve on Jan. 3, 2023. Humetewa said that she found Ward’s alleged concerns “speculative” and “dubious,” according to the Associated Press.

During a hearing, Ward’s lawyers stated that their client had written a book about sending an alternate slate of presidential electors to Congress and also filmed several videos of her actions, uploading them on YouTube.

“These actions belie Ms. Ward’s concern that her communications with her constituents or colleagues will be chilled by [the phone company’s] possible disclosure of who she spoke with during that time,” the Judge wrote.

The Jan. 6 committee is seeking phone records of Ward and her husband for the three months leading up to January 2021. On Jan. 25, 2022, T-Mobile informed Ward’s medical practice that the committee had sent a subpoena for the phone records.

The committee is seeking details including all calls, IP, messages, and data-related records of Ward’s phone number as well as numbers that communicated with her phone.

Committee Meeting, Trump Action

The Jan. 6 committee is due to meet on Oct. 13, which is expected to be its last hearing. The meeting was originally scheduled for Sept. 28 but was postponed due to complications arising from Hurricane Ian.

Speaking to Axios, members of the committee said that the rescheduling was done to ensure all members would be physically present at the meeting.

Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump has indicated that he might bring “appropriate action” against the Jan. 6 committee. The statement came as part of an announcement of a lawsuit against CNN alleging defamation.

In the statement, Trump said, “notwithstanding overwhelming evidence, they REFUSED to investigate the massive Presidential Election Fraud which took place, but only investigate and harass the people and Patriots who complained and asked questions about it.”

The committee also refused to acknowledge that he had “recommended and authorized thousands of troops to be deployed to ensure that there was peace, safety, and security at the Capitol and throughout the Country,” Trump said.

The only two Republicans in the Jan. 6 panel are Reps. Liz Cheney (Wyo.) and Adam Kinzinger (Ill.), both of whom are known to be strong opponents of Trump.