Jan. 6 investigation attorney battles Big Tech lawyer in federal court: report

20 May 2023

The Department of Justice (DOJ) attorney James Pearce, known for working with special counsel Jack Smith in the Jan. 6 investigation is currently battling Big Tech attorney Ari Holtzblatt in federal court, Politico reports.

A Politico reporter saw Holtzblatt — an attorney with major law firm, WilmerHale, mainly representing Twitter, Meta and Google — outside of the federal courthouse Friday following hours-long litigation.

Politico reports:

The precise nature of the litigation is unclear. However, docket entries connected to the case suggest it has been ongoing for months, one of a growing list of secret battles Smith has waged to secure testimony and documents in his probes of Donald Trump. Smith has won similar fights to secure testimony from key members of Trump’s inner circle, including former vice president Mike Pence, former chief of staff Mark Meadows and Trump social media manager Dan Scavino.

According to the appeals court docket, the news outlet reports "the litigation was initiated on Jan. 5 before U.S. District Court Judge Beryl Howell, who was then the district's chief judge, tasked with overseeing all matters connected to Smith's grand jury."

Furthermore, Politico notes the case is described a "stored communications" battle, "which typically references an effort by prosecutors to obtain communications from third-party sources like telecom providers or social media companies like Google, Twitter and Facebook."

Politico's full report is available at this link.

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