Trump ally Scott Perry ordered to share records with Jan 6 probe

A judge has ordered Republican Rep. Scott Perry to share more than 1,600 messages to federal prosecutors probing Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.

US District Judge James Boasberg ordered Mr Perry to release 1,656 out of 2,055 records.

The BBC has contacted Mr Perry for comment.

Mr Perry, whose phone was seized in 2022, has avoided sharing the records with investigators multiple times.

The Republican congressman had been embroiled in the 6 January investigation after it was alleged that he used his position on Capitol Hill to bolster efforts aimed at overturning the 2020 presidential election results.

Authorities obtained a warrant to take Mr Perry's phone as part of their investigation into his alleged involvement. They required a second warrant to access his phone, however.

Mr Perry, who leads the deeply conservative House Freedom Caucus, was able to delay the warrant by claiming that the constitutional "speech or debate" clause shielded his data from prosecutors.

The clause is designed to protect US lawmakers' speech during legislative sessions. Mr Perry had argued the protections should apply because his phone was used in his role as a lawmaker.

Judge Boasberg disagreed, ruling that the 1,656 cell phone, email and other messages were not related to his job in Congress and therefore had to be released.

In the 12-page order, Judge Boasberg reviewed the messages and divided them into three categories: communications involving members of the executive branch, messages involving congressional members and those with individuals outside the government.

The judge found that some 396 messages - from each category - were protected under the "speech or debate" clause.

Mr Perry must release "communications about non-legislative efforts to work with or influence members of the Executive Branch", the judge ruled.

Mr Trump was indicted on felony charges in August in Washington, DC for election subversion, one of four criminal cases he is facing. He has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.

Earlier this year, the US attorney general named Jack Smith as the special counsel in charge of the January 6 probe as well as a separate classified documents case in Florida.

Mr Perry, a staunch ally of the former president, has faced a backlash for his alleged role in assisting the former president in his election subversion attempts.

Mr Perry was also a subject of interest for the select House committee investigating the 6 January Capitol riots.

The panel claimed that the Pennsylvania Republican introduced Mr Trump to environmental attorney Jeffrey Clark. Mr Trump allegedly considered installing the largely unknown lawyer as active attorney general because he was supportive of his election fraud claims.

Mr Perry also defied a subpoena to testify before the January 6 Committee.