Attorney who aided Trump's election efforts sues Jan. 6 committee over phone records
A Washington, D.C., lobbyist and attorney who assisted with former President Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election filed suit this week against the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, to block the release of her phone records.
Katherine Friess filed her lawsuit in federal court in Colorado against the committee and AT&T, which alerted her earlier this month of the committee's subpoena.
According to an affidavit included in the filing obtained by ABC News, Friess identifies herself as having volunteered as an "election integrity attorney, observing ballot counting, for the 2020 national elections" and later having served as a "staff attorney on the personal legal team of President Donald J. Trump" from November 2020 to January of 2021.
Former New York City Police Commissioner Bernie Kerik, who worked with ex-New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and the Trump campaign to identify voting irregularities after the election, previously told The Daily Beast that Friess "assisted in the preparation of legal documents, interviews, and reviewed affidavits; and coordinated travel, legislative hearings and meetings, as directed by the mayor or myself."
Friess' filing argues that the subpoena targeting her personal cell phone would violate attorney-client privilege with Trump and other individuals she represents, as well as violate her personal privacy.
According to the notification letter from AT&T, the subpoena seeks records documenting the contacts Friess made over phone and text during the period between Nov. 1, 2020 and Jan. 31, 2021, including the times and durations of phone calls -- but not the content of the messages or calls themselves.
Friess is the latest in a growing number of former Trump associates who have filed lawsuits seeking to block the release of their cell phone records to the Jan. 6 committee, including former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, former Trump national security adviser Mike Flynn, MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell and attorney John Eastman.
The Jan. 6 committee has confirmed issuing dozens of subpoenas as it seeks to gather evidence regarding the communications between Trump and his allies in advance of the Jan. 6 riot, and their behind-the-scenes efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Friess did not immediately respond to multiple requests for comment from ABC News.
A spokesperson for the Jan. 6 committee declined to comment on the matter.
