Why Scott Perry stands out in the FBI’s investigations of Trump allies

Why Scott Perry stands out in the FBI's investigations of Trump allies

Scott Perry alleged this week that the FBI had confiscated his phone. The FBI’s actions and its search of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home have now been publicly linked by Scott Perry. There is no evidence linking the two, and more data would seem to support the notion that they are the focus of separate investigations.

The FBI’s handling of the Pennsylvania Republican against a sitting member of Congress was unique. The seizure, however, comes as investigators are moving more overtly to look into Trump allies’ attempts to use the Justice Department to obstruct the transition of power, and Perry’s considerable involvement in Trump’s attempts to rig the 2020 election has recently come to light. According to the evidence, it is not believed that the FBI’s efforts to retrieve presidential papers that may have been improperly stored at Trump’s home are related to his issues.

Later on Wednesday, Perry’s attorney John Irving declared that the congressman was “not a target of its probe.”

Representative Perry has instructed us to work with the Justice Department to make sure that it receives the information to which it is entitled while also protecting information to which it is not entitled, including communications that are protected by the Speech and Debate Clause of the United States Constitution and communications with counsel, according to Irving.

The investigation into election manipulation is being overseen by the inspector general of the Justice Department, whose office has declined to comment. In June, John Eastman, a lawyer who is also participating in that effort, had his phone taken by FBI agents working on behalf of the inspector general. A Perry representative did not immediately respond to requests for comment. CNN claims that Perry’s phone was stolen in relation to the inspector general’s investigation.

Perry’s involvement stood out even though the select committee’s inquiry on January 6 named hundreds of GOP politicians as aiding or facilitating Trump’s attempts to maintain power, making it more plausible that this was the cause for his mobile phone being confiscated. The numerous lines of evidence supporting Perry’s involvement that congressional investigators have so far made public are listed below.

The promotion of Jeffrey Clark

According to testimony made public through the investigations by the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Jan. 6 select committee, Perry advocated for Jeffrey Clark, who was at the time a little-known Justice Department official, to manage the organisation in the wake of the 2020 presidential election. Clark was preparing to draught an official DOJ letter requesting states to hold a special session of their legislatures and consider annulling the election results, and Trump supporters thought Clark was more receptive to inquiries into fictitious charges of voter fraud.

Investigations indicate that Perry introduced Clark to Trump and his friends. Acting deputy attorney general Richard Donoghue stated before legislators that Perry allegedly said in a meeting “something to the effect of ‘I feel Jeff Clark is amazing, and I think he’s the kind of guy who could get in there and do something about this issue'”. And Mr. Clark had only been brought up earlier that day, in the president’s discussion in the afternoon.

Investigations indicate that Perry introduced Clark to Trump and his friends. Acting deputy attorney general Richard Donoghue stated before legislators that Perry allegedly said in a meeting “something to the effect of ‘I feel Jeff Clark is amazing, and I think he’s the kind of guy who could get in there and do something about this issue'”. And Mr. Clark had only been brought up earlier that day, in the president’s discussion in the afternoon.

Trump’s W.H. is the target of a plan that runs from Election Night until January 6.

Perry brought Clark to the White House on December 22, 2020, and helped introduce him to Trump, according to visitor logs shared by the select panel.

Additionally, Perry asked Mark Meadows, the then-White House chief of staff, to elevate Clark in messages that were made public by the select panel.

As the clock gets shorter, Mark, just checking in. There are 11 days till 1/6 and 25 days before the inauguration. We must proceed! On December 26, 2020, Perry texted “Mark, you should contact Jeff,” adding “Mark” afterward.

Prior to January 6, Trump came perilously close to replacing Clark with another official at the DOJ. Only after senior figures in the White House and Justice Department jointly offered their resignations was he finally convinced to back down.

Meadows’s messages in cypher

In the same text message exchange from December 26, 2020, Perry claimed to have asked Meadows, “Did you call Jeff Clark?” using the secure messaging service Signal. It is uncertain if either man saved their Signal communications, despite the National Archives earlier acknowledging Meadows might not have “fully” archived all of his phone and email account information.

The actual contents of the records that the chief of staff allegedly burned in his office after meeting with Perry in the White House were unknown when Cassidy Hutchinson, a former Meadows top assistant, also testified before the select committee on January 6.

making preparations for Trump’s January 6 plan
Additionally, on December 21, 2020, Perry attended a meeting at the White House with members of the pro-Trump House Freedom Caucus, which he heads, to discuss ways to halt or delay the certification of Joe Biden’s victory on January 6. They focused especially on Mike Pence’s monitoring of the electoral vote total during his vice presidential term.

Perry and other Trump loyalists had proposed ideas for Pence to reject Biden’s electors on January 6, according to Hutchinson, who recalled White House lawyers being present and “pushing back” on these plans. According to Hutchinson, the goal was to compel state legislatures to select their own pro-Trump electors when the election was returned to them. The White House’s legal counsel, according to Hutchinson, did not think the strategy was “legally strong.”

Trump visiting the Capitol on January 6 Hutchinson’s testimony also revealed preparations for that visit and communications between Meadows and Perry regarding it.

“I recall hearing a few different concepts talked with,” Hutchinson said, “between Mark [Meadows] and Scott Perry, Mark and Rudy Giuliani.” I’m not sure which discussions the president was made aware of. I’m not sure what he had in mind for himself on that specific day when he went to the Capitol.

The select committee was also informed by Hutchinson that Perry had supported previously publicised plans to organise a march by Trump supporters on the Capitol.

Excuse me, would you.

According to Hutchinson, Perry was among a select number of GOP politicians who spoke with Trump about potential pardons after the revolt on January 6. None of them were ultimately pardoned.

Lawmakers were informed by Hutchinson that Mr. Perry had also asked for a pardon, and that he had spoken with her directly.

Perry has denied asking for a pardon for himself or other members of Congress, but Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.), who disagrees with electoral votes, has admitted asking for one for himself and made that request public in an email to the White House.

The president felt it would be best to just let the matter grow, Brooks told reporters in June.

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