Rep. Scott Perry Files Motion to Drop DOJ Cellphone Data Lawsuit (Newsmax)
By Nicole Wells | Thursday, 27 October 2022 01:55 PM EDT
Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., an ally of former President Donald Trump, filed a motion Wednesday to drop his lawsuit against the Department of Justice (DOJ) over his seized cellphone data.
The court filing did not give a reason for seeking the suit's dismissal, but comes after a late August request for more time to negotiate with the Justice Department, according to The Hill.
The FBI confiscated Perry's phone in August while he was on vacation with his family in an effort to determine if, or to what extent, Perry was involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the Capitol building. It was returned the same day after agents copied the data.
The Keystone State congressman maintained there was sensitive information on his phone, which was covered by the Constitution's speech and debate clause. The clause grants lawmakers legal protections for actions taken as part of their job.
He also said his phone contained information shielded by marital and attorney-client privilege, according to The Hill.
Perry rejected an offer by the DOJ to review the phone's contents jointly provided he waived any speech or debate clause protections, according to a court filing from early August. Another motion from later that month, however, requested more time to "allow the parties to further discuss the possibility of resolving" the matter.
According to NBC News, the House Jan. 6 committee has claimed it has evidence "from multiple witnesses" about Perry's involvement in an effort to appoint former DOJ official Jeffrey Clark to the position of acting attorney general during Trump's final months as president. Clark had promoted Trump's theory of a stolen 2020 presidential election and wanted the DOJ to investigate the results.