Judge won't block Jan. 6 panel subpoena to Arizona GOP chair
A federal judge in Phoenix is refusing to put on hold her order requiring the phone records of Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward to be handed over to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection, pending an appeal
PHOENIX (AP) — A federal judge in Phoenix on Friday refused to put on hold her order requiring phone records of the Arizona Republican Party leader to be turned over to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, pending an appeal.
U.S. District Judge Diane Humetewa said state GOP Chair Kelli Ward had failed to show that she would suffer irreparable harm if congressional investigators for the records. And she again rejected Ward's claims that her First Amendment rights would be chilled if investigators were able to learn whom she spoke with while trying to challenge former President Donald Trump's 2020 election defeat.
Humetewa said she found Ward's “alleged concern speculative — and in light of disclosures made during oral argument — dubious.”
She noted that Ward's lawyers pointed out at a Tuesday hearing that she had written a book about sending an alternate slate of fake presidential electors to Congress and filmed multiple videos of her actions and posted them on YouTube.
