On Tuesday (August 9), Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA.) revealed that his phone had been confiscated by three FBI agents who approached him while he was traveling with his family.
The confiscation comes one day after former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home was raided.
Perry revealed, in a statement, that agents presented him with a warrant after which the agents requested his phone.
Why the FBI wanted Perry’s phone remains unclear as neither the agency nor the Department of Justice made official statements on the matter.
Perry, the chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, criticized Attorney General Merrick Garland for the confiscation, saying he was “unsurprised” that the DOJ would “seize” the phone without first making arrangements with him to take the phone.
“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. 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,” Perry stated.
He then listed that his phone had “my legislative and political activities, and personal/private discussions with my wife, family, constituents, and friends,” which Perry noted the government didn’t need access to.
He called the decision to forego contacting his lawyers “banana Republic tactics,” claiming it should be concerning for every citizen, “especially considering the decision before Congress this week to hire 87,000 new IRS agents to further persecute law-abiding Citizens.”
