PennLive and two other central Pennsylvania news organizations are asking a federal court to unseal records related to the FBI’s seizure of U.S. Rep. Scott Perry’s cell phone on Aug. 9.
PennLive is joined by The York Daily Record and The York Dispatch, two other leading news organizations in the 10th U.S. House District, which is represented by Perry. The district covers Dauphin County and parts of York and Cumberland counties.
The FBI took Perry’s phone while he was vacationing with his family in New Jersey. The FBI made a copy of the phone and returned it to him the same day.
The seizure is believed to be part of a U.S. Justice Department investigation into alleged efforts by allies of former President Donald Trump to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The Justice Department hasn’t publicly stated why Perry’s phone was seized.
The news organizations are asking the federal court to unseal documents including the search warrant, the application for the warrant and any judicial records related to the warrant.
Perry has said the seizure of his phone was politically motivated and he’s not the target of any investigation. He has sued to prevent the Justice Department from viewing the copied contents of his phone.
The news organizations’ motion argues “there’s a powerful public interest” in matters that involve “potential misconduct by a sitting public official.”
It also argues it’s important for the public to understand government actions and investigations that impact “important constitutional rights such as the Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable searches and seizures.”
Perry is a close ally of Trump and was a major purveyor of false claims of significant fraud in the 2020 presidential election. The special U.S. House committee investigating events leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol alleges Perry was among those who plotted to overturn the election results and enable Trump to stay in power.
Perry is running for a sixth two-year term in the U.S. House. His Democratic opponent is Shamaine Daniels, an immigration lawyer and member of Harrisburg City Council.
The news organizations’ motion was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. The case number is 1:22-mc-00756-SES.
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RELATED COVERAGE FROM PENNLIVE:
Rep. Perry insists seizure of cell phone about ‘abuse of power’, not Jan 6 attack on Capitol
Scott Perry sues for return of cell phone data seized in Jan. 6 investigation
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