Supreme Court allows Jan. 6 committee to access Arizona GOP chair’s phone records

The court did not explain why it took three weeks to dispose of the emergency application, nor did they offer any public rationale for their stances on the dispute.

The 9th Circuit, which includes Arizona, had blocked the subpoena while the high court considered it. The temporary stay had been dissolved, according to the new order.

Critics want Thomas to remove himself from matters related to Jan. 6 and the 2020 presidential election because of his wife's involvement. It is believed that the longest-serving member of the court did not see a need to step back from the case.

The decision was not commented on by the committee. The House's victory opens up a lot of new leads for the panel as it works to finalize its investigation of Trump's effort to subvert the election. At the end of the current Congress, the panel is expected to be dissolved.

In January, the select committee subpoenaed T-Mobile to obtain Ward's records, seeking evidence related to her effort to aid Trump's effort to take a second term. The case has been going through the federal courts since Ward sued to stop T-Mobile from releasing her phone records.

In addition to her efforts to assemble the shadow elector slate in Arizona, Ward joined a lawsuit that was intended to force the hand of Vice President Mike Pence.

As Gohmert prepared to file the lawsuit, Ward said she spoke to Trump about trying to overturn the results. According to Pence, Trump asked him not to speak out against the lawsuit. In her book, Ward said that Short called her angry after learning about the lawsuit.

In September, a federal district court judge in Phoenix rejected Ward's lawsuit, saying the GOP official's initial concerns that the select committee was targeting her for political reasons and potentially violating her and her associates' First Amendment rights were unwarranted. A three judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals denied Ward's request for an emergency stay.

A wave of legal demands was issued to those who signed documents claiming to be pro- Trump in states won by Biden. The Justice Department had yet to take any steps to enforce the subpoenas against Arizona's electors who had mounted a concerted challenge against the effort.