Lawyers: Arizona GOP chair pleaded Fifth to Jan. 6 panel

Oct 4, 2022, 2:15 PM | Updated: 2:46 pm

PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward refused to answer questions during a deposition of the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol, an attorney for the panel revealed Tuesday during a court hearing in Phoenix.

Attorney Eric Columbus told a federal judge that Ward asserted her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination when she complied with a subpoena from the House committee.

The detail about Ward’s deposition came at a hearing where lawyers urged a federal judge to block the committee from getting her phone records while she appeals. U.S. District Judge Diane Humetewa ruled on Sept. 23 that Ward’s arguments that her phone call records should be secret did not pass legal muster.

Ward attorney Laurin Mills cast the phone records fight as one with major implications for democracy, on par if not bigger than the violent insurrection that unfolded at the Capitol.

“This is the first time in American history that a select committee of the United State Congress controlled by one party has subpoenaed the records of the state chair of the rival party,” Mills said.

He said the outcome will set important precedent, not just for the current case but for others that will come when Republicans ultimately control Congress.

The House Committee investigating the attack on the Capitol is seeking phone records from just before the November 2020 election to Jan. 31, 2021. That would include a period where Ward was pushing for former President Donald Trump’s election defeat to be overturned and while Congress was set to certify the results.

Kelli Ward and her husband Michael Ward were presidential electors who would have voted for Trump in the Electoral College had he won Arizona. Both signed a document falsely claiming they were Arizona’s true electors, despite Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in the state.

Columbus said that investigators get telephone records all the time, and noted that congressional investigators can’t arrest or charge anyone with a crime. And he noted Congress does not know all that is involved with Ward’s action to overturn President Joe Biden’s 2020 win.

“Dr. Ward was deposed by the select committee and she declined to answer on every substantive question under her rights under the Fifth Amendment,” he said. “There are other aspects of her involvement that are not at this point fully understood.”

Ward is hardly the first witness to refuse the committee’s questions. Others who have asserted their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination include Trump allies Michael Flynn, Roger Stone and lawyer John Eastman. Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones also asserted his Fifth Amendment rights.

The committee has talked to more than 1,000 other witnesses, including many White House aides and several of Trump’s lawyers and confidants.

But Mills noted during the hearing that there is a parallel criminal investigation underway, and in the appeal her lawyers noted that she and the other 10 fake Arizona electors received grand jury subpoenas from the Department of Justice.

“All I can say is if we do this wrong, we will set a precedent that is worse than the Capitol riot,” Mills said.

Mills told the judge that the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has set a briefing schedule and could decide the case as early as January. Columbus noted that will likely be too late, since the committee dissolves on Jan. 3, when the current congressional session ends.

The Wards say the subpoena should be quashed because it violates their First Amendment rights, violates House rules and exceeds the authority of the Jan. 6 committee. Humetewa rejected each argument in turn in her earlier ruling and is considering their request to block access during appeal.

Kelli Ward is a staunch Trump ally who has aggressively promoted the false claim that the election was stolen from him. In the days after the election, she pressured Republicans on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors to investigate unsupported claims of fraud before election results were certified, according to text messages released by the county.

A spokesperson for the. 6 committee did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment.

___

Associated Press writers Farnoush Amiri and Mary Clare Jalonick contributed from Washington.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

(Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS...

Associated Press

9 injured in Memorial Day shooting at Florida beach

Police are responding to a shooting near the beach broadwalk in Hollywood, Florida.

1 day ago

Crew members assemble the main stage ahead of the 2023 Scripps Nations Spelling Bee on Sunday, May ...

Associated Press

Exclusive secrets of the National Spelling Bee: Picking the words to identify a champion

As the final pre-competition meeting of the Scripps National Spelling Bee's word selection panel stretches into its seventh hour, the pronouncers no longer seem to care.

1 day ago

FILE - Gabby Petito's mother Nichole Schmidt, wipes a tear from her face during a news conference o...

Associated Press

Mother of man who killed Gabby Petito said in letter she would help son ‘dispose of a body’

The mother of the man who killed Gabby Petito told her son in an undated letter that she would “dispose of a body” if needed because she loved him so much, according to copies of the note shared publicly for the first time this week by attorneys for Petito's parents.

4 days ago

A member of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, also known as The Old Guard, places flags in front of e...

Associated Press

5 things to know about Memorial Day including its controversies

Memorial Day is supposed to be about mourning the nation’s fallen service members, but it’s come to anchor the unofficial start of summer and a long weekend of discounts on anything from mattresses to lawn mowers.

4 days ago

FILE - This artist sketch depicts the trial of Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes, left, as he test...

Associated Press

Officers describe chaos, fear on Jan. 6 as judge weighs prison time for Oath Keepers’ Rhodes

Police officers who defended the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and public servants who fled the mob's attack told a judge on Wednesday that they are still haunted by what they endured, as the judge prepares to hand down sentences in a landmark Capitol riot case.

5 days ago

Pride month merchandise is displayed at the front of a Target store in Hackensack, N.J., Wednesday,...

Associated Press

Target on the defensive after removing LGBTQ+-themed products

Target once distinguished itself as being boldly supportive of the LGBTQ+ community.

6 days ago

Sponsored Articles

...

DAY & NIGHT AIR CONDITIONING, HEATING AND PLUMBING

Here are the biggest tips to keep your AC bill low this summer

PHOENIX — In Arizona during the summer, having a working air conditioning unit is not just a pleasure, but a necessity. No one wants to walk from their sweltering car just to continue to be hot in their home. As the triple digits hit around the Valley and are here to stay, your AC bill […]

(Photo by Michael Matthey/picture alliance via Getty Images)...

Cox Communications

Valley Boys & Girls Club uses esports to help kids make healthy choices

KTAR’s Community Spotlight focuses on the Boys & Girls Club of the Valley and the work to incorporate esports into children's lives.

...

Day & Night Air Conditioning, Heating and Plumbing

Company looking for oldest air conditioner and wants to reward homeowner with new one

Does your air conditioner make weird noises or a burning smell when it starts? If so, you may be due for an AC unit replacement.

Lawyers: Arizona GOP chair pleaded Fifth to Jan. 6 panel