WASHINGTON, D.C. (WHTM) — Midstate Congressman Scott Perry has used nearly $300,000 of campaign donations to pay for his legal fees, according to his campaign finance report.

“[This] is legal under certain circumstances,” Dickinson College President and Former Federal Judge John E. Jones III said. “If you’re investigated in your capacity as the United States Congress person, they [Federal Election Commission] allow some latitude in using the campaign funds.”

Perry’s report shows the money paid for legal expenses at two law firms — one in Georgia and one in Washington, D.C.

It comes amid a federal investigation into Perry’s role — if any — in the Jan. 6 insurrection. His cell phone, along with 1,600 emails and text messages, were seized by federal investigators last December.

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“This is a weaponized Department of Justice and judicial system that uses all the tactics that it’s avail against its opponents, and I’m one of its opponents,” Republican Congressman Scott Perry said.

Perry defended the use of donor dollars to defend himself in court.

“I think people in central Pennsylvania, they know me, they understand what’s happening here,” Perry said “They continue to contribute because they want to help. They don’t agree with what’s happened to me.”

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Perry is not the only politician to do this. Former President and current GOP Presidential frontrunner Donald Trump is as well, most recently in his hush money trial.

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