DOJ bid to access phone of Trump ally Rep. Scott Perry rejected

A federal appeals court panel has placed a secret hold on the Justice Department’s attempts to solicit access to the cellphone of Rep. Scott Perry (R-Penn).

 The Justice Department attempted to access Perry’s text messages as part of their criminal investigation into possible 2020 election interference.

A source with knowledge of the situation said the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group, which includes Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, voted unanimously to intervene. 

“It was a unanimous vote, in terms of the bipartisan legal group, related to the institution of the House of Representatives,” Jeffries told reporters Monday.

Perry sent a text to Mark Meadows during his time as White House Chief of Staff regarding advice from a “cyber forensic team” he had been in contact with following the 2020 election.

Perry said he believed that a lapse in security contributed to Donald Trump’s loss.  This led Perry to have some contact with Trump backers who held similar views.

Perry said in the past that the Justice Department informed his legal team that they had no interest in investigating him further. 

Perry sued the DOJ following their attempts to access his phone as he believed that he would not be subject to investigation.

Following Perry’s lawsuit, the case went under seal, with Perry’s lawyers and Justice Department investigators appearing in court before Chief Judge Beryl Howell during a hearing that was held behind closed doors, CNN reported at the time.