This past Tuesday, a group of federal agents officially confiscated the personal cellphone of one Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) while he was on a trip with his family, reports the legislator.
“This morning, while traveling with my family, 3 FBI agents visited me and seized my cell phone,” Perry explained in a statement. “They made no attempt to contact my lawyer, who would have made arrangements for them to have my phone if that was their wish. 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.”
“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,” he went on.
Perry called on former President Donald Trump, who just recently had his Florida house raided by the FBI on Monday, in his comments.
“As with President Trump last night, DOJ chose this unnecessary and aggressive action instead of simply contacting my attorneys,” stated Perry. “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.”
It is still unclear exactly why the seizure of Perry’s personal cell phone took place, but it was highlighted by Fox News that Perry had also been a prime target of the Democrats’ January 6 House select committee due to his loyalty to Trump as an ally that was frequently in contact with the Trump administration White House.
FBI agents carried out their search warrant on the Florida mansion at Mar-a-Lago that is owned by Trump due to reportedly thinking that Trump had not handed back all of his classified information that was slated to head back to the National Archives as of the first of this year.
A report from The Wall Street Journal stated that the FBI executed the search “in part because they believed additional classified information remained at the private club.”
The report stated that the investigating federal agents took out well over 10 boxes of materials from the searched house, which is now being held and examined at one local FBI field office.
Reportedly, the agents were on the property for the entire day and were dressed in plain clothes, which has led most of the staff to think that they were agents of the U.S. Secret Service, which is almost certainly why there had been no leaking of information before the execution of the warrant.
The Secret Service agents protecting Trump were only told about the incoming raid just moments before it took place. Trump has had lawyers on hand throughout the entire raid while he was staying at his other residence in New York City.
FBI agents were able to thoroughly go through all offices and safes within the property and confiscated a large number of boxes entirely full of documents for them to go through at the local FBI field office in South Florida. “They were not being judicious about what they took,” explained one close source to Fox News.
