Federal investigators gained access to email communications tied to a Republican congressman who had his phone seized by the FBI earlier this year, as well as an official from Donald Trump’s Department of Justice and two of the former president’s attorneys, according to court filings.
Chief Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia revealed Friday that earlier this year, she granted DOJ investigators access to emails between Trump-connected attorneys and Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) as part of the federal investigation into election subversion efforts by Trump and his allies. Perry is one of Trump’s allies who chairs the House Freedom Caucus who sued after his phone was seized in August, only to later quietly drop the lawsuit in October.
The judge unsealed a June opinion in which she deemed 37 emails sent between Trump-era DOJ official Jeffrey Clark, his aide Ken Klukowski, Trump attorney John Eastman, and Perry were not protected by attorney-client privilege. Howell suggested at the time that investigators made access to any emails sent to Perry’s account a priority.
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Howell unsealed another opinion issued in September that found 331 documents from Clark, who was almost appointed to acting attorney general as part of a plan to gain a second term, were also not protected under attorney-client privilege.
The documents pertained to his autobiography outline, and six chapters of the book were about the 2020 election, according to court records.
The prologue of the book describes Clark’s involvement in the Bush v. Gore case, stating how he “‘never thought [he’d] have a bird’s eye view of a second deeply contested presidential election,’ but that he ‘would be wrong.'”
The order also showcases multiple rounds of investigative steps from the DOJ in May, June, and September.
Clark declined to answer questions from several investigative teams earlier this year, invoking the Fifth Amendment. He also marked on the autobiography drafts that they were attorney work product, suggesting he wanted them to remain confidential.
The DOJ prosecutors told a judge, “Clark penned the autobiography outline in an atmosphere charged with news that congressional committees’ investigations into the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack and other efforts to overturn the 2020 election were increasingly focusing on his role,” according to one filing Howell released.
Pertaining to Perry’s emails, investigators found emails between Eastman discussing a phone call with Perry in mid-December 2021. “John, this is congressman Scott Perry from PA. Can you contact me ASAP?” one message said around Dec. 11.
The four subjects surrounding Trump’s election subversion efforts have been part of the DOJ’s criminal investigation into the Jan. 6 Capitol riot since earlier this year, when federal investigators conducted searches of their communications devices. Perry declined to appear before the House Jan. 6 committee for testimony last year.
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The DOJ said earlier this year it had a dispute over accessing information on Perry’s phone because of constitutional protections surrounding members of Congress, though it’s not clear if that matter has been resolved.
The four men have not been charged with criminal wrongdoing.
