YORK COUNTY, Pa. — U.S. Rep. Scott Perry was ordered by a Washington D.C. District Court judge to hand over more than 2,000 records to federal investigators in the latest twist in the legal battle over his cell phone, which was taken by the FBI last year as part of an investigation into the efforts of former president Donald Trump to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Chief Judge Beryl Howell last Friday unsealed her Dec. 28 decision that rejected a request by attorneys representing the York County Republican for a stay in turning the records over, ruling that Perry's arguments did not meet the high standard required for such an action and that the "powerful public interest" in seeing the previously secret opinion outweighed the need for continued secrecy.
In his request for a stay, Perry argued that the records reflected his efforts to research potential legislative decisions — like whether to vote to challenge election results on Jan. 6, 2021 — and therefore should be protected from disclosure by the Constitution’s speech or debate clause, a provision meant to safeguard lawmakers from pressure or intimidation by the executive branch, according to a Politico article that summarized his legal efforts.
In her ruling, Howell said Perry's argument would effectively put members of Congress above the law and free of political consequences for their actions, Politico said.
"None of the 2,055 responsive records that Rep. Perry has withheld as privileged contain communications relating to legislative-fact-finding efforts sanctioned or otherwise authorized in a procedurally regular manner by any congressional entity," Howell wrote in her 51-page opinion in December.
Perry later appealed Howell's ruling to a three-judge panel with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. Last Thursday, Politico reports, the panel heard both public and private arguments regarding the dispute, and the stay will remain in place while the panel considers Perry's appeal.
The panel could vote to leave Howell's ruling in place, set it aside, or modify it in some way, according to Politico.
Perry's phone was seized by the FBI last August. He later sued the U.S. Department of Justice in an attempt to have his phone returned and to block investigators from searching it.
“Make no mistake, the seizure of my personal phone has nothing to do with January 6, 2021 and everything to do with November 8, 2022," Perry said in a statement after his phone was taken. "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."
Perry later dropped the lawsuit without comment, but has continued to criticize the investigation, claiming it had more to do with hurting his re-election chances than it did with the Capitol riot and the results of Trump's bid to overturn the 2020 election results.
Perry was re-elected to the House in November 2022, defeating Democrat Shamaine Daniels to earn a sixth consecutive term.
He was later instrumental in the unsuccessful attempt to thwart Kevin McCarthy's bid to become House Speaker after the GOP takeover.
Last December, the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the United States Capitol building called for a formal ethics inquiry into McCarthy and other allies of former President Donald Trump for refusing to cooperate with the probe. That list of allies included Perry.
