Republican Congressman Scott Perry has announced that three FBI agents seized his cellphone on the day after former President Donald Trump was raided at Mar-a-Lago.
The congressman recently filed articles of impeachment against Attorney General Merrick Garland for claiming that he was not going after parents over protests at school boards.
Rep. Scott Perry files articles of impeachment against Merrick Garland.
Garland sends the FBI to retrieve his private cell phone.
This is America, and these Gestapo tactics are not welcome. There will be a reckoning. https://t.co/747N6KLdT9
— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) August 9, 2022
Rep. Perry, chair of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, said that the incident took place while he was traveling with his family.
“This morning, while traveling with my family, 3 FBI agents visited me and seized my cell phone. They made no attempt to contact my lawyer, who would have made arrangements for them to have my phone if that was their wish,” Rep. Perry said in a statement to Fox News. “I’m outraged — though not surprised — that the FBI under the direction of Merrick Garland’s DOJ, would seize the phone of a sitting Member of Congress.”
The congressman, who is currently serving his fifth term, asserted that the information contained on his phone are none of the government’s business.
“My phone contains info about my legislative and political activities, and personal/private discussions with my wife, family, constituents, and friends. None of this is the government’s business.”
Perry continued on to say that “as with President Trump last night, DOJ chose this unnecessary and aggressive action instead of simply contacting my attorneys. These kinds of banana republic tactics should concern every Citizen — especially considering the decision before Congress this week to hire 87,000 new IRS agents to further persecute law-abiding Citizens.”
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy responded to the news by tweeting that “Garland has lost the trust of the American people and will answer for his abusive tactics.”
Criminals run rampant across our cities but Garland’s politicized DOJ
is targeting President Trump and Members of Congress. Garland has lost the trust of the American people and will answer for his abusive tactics. https://t.co/ZICX0Tobtz— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) August 9, 2022
Rep. Perry has been a close ally of Trump’s and has questioned the legitimacy of the 2020 election. He has also been a person of interest to the January 6 Committee due to his communications with the president and his administration in the days leading up to the protest.
The Department of Justice has said that they found no evidence of election fraud on a large enough scale to have altered the outcome of the 2020 election.
Trump’s residence at Mar-a-Lago was raided early Monday morning while he was in New York City.
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) initiated the Justice Department investigation with claims that they had found 15 boxes of records, including classified material, at Mar-a-Lago in violation of the Presidential Records Act.
“Such an assault could only take place in broken, Third-World countries,” Trump said in a statement announcing that he had been raided. “Sadly, America has now become one of those countries, corrupt at a level not seen before.”
