On Thursday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit heard oral argument in a potentially important Speech or Debate Clause case concerning whether the Justice Department can obtain access to the contents of Congressman Scott Perry's cell phone as part of its January 6 investigation. Most of the arguent was public and can be heard here. Judges Katsas and Rao actively probed both sides' arguments so for those interested in these issues it is definitely worth a listen. (Judge Henderson is also on the panel, but asked few questions as she was participating remotely.)
On Friday, district court judge Beryl Howell released a redacted version of her decision rejecting Rep. Perry's Speech or Debate Clause claim was released to the public. (It had previously been under seal.) After conducting in camera review of over 2,000 documents on Rep. Perry's phone, Judge Howell concluded that most were not covered by the Speech or Debate Clause's protection. Wrote Judge Howell:
