A Justice Department attorney who works closely with the special counsel probing Jan. 6 took on a prominent lawyer — who primarily defends social media companies — in a sealed appeals court argument Friday, according to a review of court records.
Holtzblatt was spotted by a POLITICO reporter at the federal courthouse, along with other attorneys from WilmerHale, on Friday morning. Among them was Aaron Zebley, once a top deputy to special counsel Robert Mueller, and George Varghese, a former federal prosecutor. Varghese now handles national security matters at Wilmer, according to his bio with the firm.
But the nature of the secretive fight against Holtzblatt and his client has been difficult to pinpoint, identifiable only by a series of clues on the appeals court docket. Several days prior to Friday’s oral argument, the circuit asked lawyers for both sides of the dispute to identify who would participate in oral arguments. The government indicated that Pearce — who has handled a slew of high-level Jan. 6 legal fights — would lead arguments for the Justice Department.
The judges who heard the matter were Cornelia Pillard, an appointee of President Barack Obama, along with Michelle Childs and Florence Pan, appointees of President Joe Biden.