There’s a lot going on in the world of Trump investigations this week, but I wanted to catch you up on some details surrounding additional FBI activity in Pennsylvania. At the center of it, it seems, is Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA).
PennLive has the scoop: FBI investigators issued subpoenas and stopped by the offices of individuals in the Pennsylvania House and Senate buildings on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. The news outlet said its details come from six sources briefed on the investigation.
The federal investigators were reportedly seeking information about Perry and the fake Trump electors scheme. At least some of the people visited by the FBI were told that they were not targets of an investigation. A former U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania told PennLive that the subpoenas were likely just official asks for information or records that may be helpful to the FBI as part of an ongoing grand jury probe.
It is still unclear, but it appears these subpoenas and federal law enforcement visits may be part of an investigation either separate or overlapping with the Justice Department’s criminal investigation into the fake electors scheme. The FBI seized Perry’s cellphone on Tuesday, reportedly as part of that investigation, according to the Washington Post. The seizure took place, of course, just hours after Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort was raided by the FBI on Monday evening.
Federal agents approached Perry on Tuesday while he was traveling with his family with a court authorized warrant for his phone, the Post reported. Akin to Trump, Perry cast himself as a victim of a politically weaponized DOJ and claimed his lawyers were never contacted about the warrant.
“As with President [Donald] Trump last night, DOJ chose this unnecessary and aggressive action instead of simply contacting my attorneys,” he said in a statement Tuesday.
It’s still not clear what probe this new flurry of FBI activity in Pennsylvania is connected to and a Perry campaign spokesperson told PennLive that the lawmaker was informed that he was not the target of the investigation related to his phone seizure.
“In a discussion with the DOJ, my attorneys were informed that I’m not a target of its investigation,” Perry said in the statement to PennLive. “I’ve directed them to cooperate with the Justice Department in order to ensure that it gets the information to which it’s entitled, but to protect information to which it’s not — including communications that are protected under the speech and debate clause of the United States Constitution.”
But, as we have learned from the Jan. 6 Select Committee, Perry played a key role in several layers of Trump’s election overturning efforts, including introducing Trump to Jeffrey Clark, whom Trump tried to appoint as attorney general so he could further investigate false claims of election fraud.
The Best Of TPM Today
Here’s what you should read this evening:
Draft Document Would Have Notified Congress About Missing Secret Service Texts Weeks Earlier
Garland: DOJ To Seek Partial Release Of Trump Search Warrant
Bolton Says Trump Took Away His Security Detail Right After He Resigned
Graham Bails On Scheduled Fulton County Court Appearance
Updated: What We Know About The Incident At The FBI Cincinnati Field Office
Beautiful: Antifa Hannity Declares His ‘Love’ For FBI Has Been ‘Destroyed’
Yesterday’s Most Read Story
MTG Demands To Speak To The Manager After FBI Seizes Rep. Perry’s Phone — Cristina Cabrera
What We Are Reading
Fox News host calls out GOP for attacking the FBI after raid on Trump’s home: ‘Whatever happened to the Republican party backing the blue?’ — John Haltiwanger
‘Crazy isn’t enough’: Democrats scrutinize Ron Johnson’s every move in effort to rethink race — Natasha Korecki
FBI Director Wray denounces threats following the agency’s search of Trump home — Associated Press