Perry stresses he is not target of investigation after phone seizure

Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) emphasized late Wednesday that he is not a target of an FBI investigation after agents confiscated his cellphone in the wake of a search of former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence.

“While that story blew up, I heard from my attorneys, who talked directly to the Department of Justice, who said that I, their client, am not a target of this investigation,” Perry told Brian Kilmeade on Fox News’s “Tucker Carlson Tonight.”

Perry, chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, said on Tuesday he was handed a warrant as agents requested his personal cellphone. 

The day prior, Trump announced a large group of FBI agents executed a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago and broke into a safe. Multiple people in Trump’s orbit have publicly said the investigation was related to documents sought by the National Archives and Records Administration.

Perry told Kilmeade the FBI did not take his official cellphone used for work purposes, and agents showed up while the congressman was traveling with his family. 

“If they would have just contacted my attorney, certainly, we would have provided the information necessary, as required by law,” Perry said.

“And that would have been the end of it,” he continued. “But they want this spectacle. They want this show. They want the intimidation.” 

Perry and other Republicans have sharply criticized the FBI and the Department of Justice (DOJ) for the search of Trump’s South Florida estate, arguing the agencies have been weaponized for political purposes.

The FBI and DOJ have declined to comment on the Mar-a-Lago search and the seizure of Perry’s phone.

“I think that they’re scared to death that President Donald Trump is going to come back in 2024 and win reelection,” Perry said. “And they’re going to do every single thing that they can to make sure that doesn’t happen, including make up some kind of charges from the National Archives.”

Perry has refused to cooperate with the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. The committee has said the congressman was one of several House Republicans who sought a pardon from Trump.

Perry has denied that allegation.

Updated at 7:39 a.m.