Sher Tremonte Continues to Aid in House Select Committee’s Investigation of January 6 Attack
On June 23, 2022, Sher Tremonte, the Office of the General Counsel for the House of Representatives, and Arnold & Porter obtained dismissal of all claims brought by Taylor Budowich and his political consulting firm, Conservative Strategies, Inc., against the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol.
Budowich was a senior adviser to Donald J. Trump for President who helped with the planning of the January 6 rally that preceded the attack on the Capitol. In connection with its investigation, the Select Committee subpoenaed JPMorgan Chase for records of Budowich and his company’s financial transactions related to the rally.
After Judge James E. Boasberg denied Budowich’s motion for a preliminary injunction, the Select Committee moved to dismiss all of Budowich and his company’s claims. The Select Committee argued that the claims lacked merit and were barred by the Speech or Debate Clause.
Judge Boasberg agreed and dismissed the case on the grounds that the Speech or Debate Clause bars all claims against the Select Committee: “[T]he Speech or debate Clause plainly immunizes the Congressional Defendants from all six of the claims against them, given that each challenge raises from a legislative act.” A copy of the decision is linked here.
In addition to its work on the Budowich matter, Sher Tremonte has advised the Office of General Counsel and the Select Committee on other matters that have reverberated through the January 6 investigation. John Eastman, against whom Sher Tremonte successfully defeated a motion for emergency relief in front of Judge David O. Carter in the Central District of California, recently dropped a lawsuit that sought to block the Committee from obtaining his phone records. And Sher Tremonte continues to assist the Select Committee in its litigation against former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows relating to Meadows’s efforts to evade subpoenas issued by the Committee.
The Sher Tremonte team advising the Select Committee includes Justin Sher, Michael Tremonte, Noam Biale, Maya Brodziak, Kate Ghotbi, and Will Weitzman.