U.S. Rep. Scott Perry sues DOJ after it seized his cell phone

Kaity Assaf, York Daily Record
·2 min read
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Weeks after U.S. Rep. Scott Perry's cellphone was seized by FBI agents with a search warrant, the York Congressman has filed suit against the U.S. Department of Justice demanding his phone data back.

He also asked for a temporary restraining order to keep the Justice Department from searching the data it obtained from his phone until the judge rules in this motion, filed Aug. 18. POLITICO first reported the lawsuit.

Perry is a central figure in the Jan. 6 probe. Revelations from the committee probe include communications Perry had with former Trump White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows pushing conspiracy theories involving Italian satellites changes votes — and pushing to install a Trump loyalist as head of the Justice Department. Testimony also alleged Perry sought a pardon from the White House, though he has denied that assertion.

Perry said the the seizure of his personal phone has nothing to do with January 6, 2021 and everything to do with November 8, 2022.

"This breathtaking abuse of power by President Biden and his enablers will never deter me from protecting Constitutional Rights for all Americans, and pushing back against these banana republic tactics from a failed and floundering administration,” he said.

According to the emergency motion filed in Washington, D.C., federal court, special agents on Aug. 9 from the Federal Bureau of Investigation executed the warrant while Perry was on vacation with his family in New Jersey. They seized his phone, created a forensic image of it, and returned the physical phone to Perry the same day, again while he was in the company of his family.

Perry does not know what, if any steps, the government has taken to obtain his cell phone records from AT&T, the motion states.

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The filing said the data from Perry's phone includes information that is protected by the speech and debate clause of the United States Constitution, attorney-client privilege, marital privilege, and that "which is otherwise personal and confidential."

U.S. Rep. Scott Perry, R-York County, speaks during a debate against Democratic challenger George Scott at the Country Club of York on Wednesday, September 19, 2018. The 10th Congressional District boundaries encompass the cities of Harrisburg and York. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania redrew the district in 2018 after ruling the previous map unconstitutional.

Perry's counsel requested the government not seek a second search warrant that would allow them to access the data from his phone. His attorney offered to review the information and provide the government with whatever information it was seeking, as long as it did not infringe on the speech and debate clause, attorney-client privilege, and other protections.

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But the Justice Department attorneys declined the offer, according to the motion, and said that they would consider an alternative process whereby the government and Perry's counsel would simultaneously review the information from the phone and either agree or disagree that specific records are within the protections of the speech and debate clause.

On Wednesday, according to Reuters, Perry's lawyers disclosed that the department had since reached out to negotiate over how the phone search would be conducted and they asked to pause the lawsuit.

Kaity Assaf is a regional news reporter for the USA Today Network. Contact her at kassaf1@ydr.com, on Twitter @kaitythekite or by phone, 717-472-0960. Please support local journalism with a digital subscription.

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Scott Perry sues DOJ in effort to block access to his cellphone