Republican Representative Scott Perry asks the FBI to return his phone and prevent agents from obtaining its contents.

Representative Scott Perry of Pennsylvania is demanding in a new legal filing that the government return his cell phone and sue to try to stop the FBI from accessing its data after agents executed an order. this month.

The order was issued in early August allowing dealers to perform ‘forensic mining’ of the device, as the Justice Department continued its investigation on January 6, including the so-called ‘voter’ scheme fake’.

Perry, in his lawsuit, argues that his conversations and data as a member of Congress are protected by the ‘Speech and Debate’ clause of the Constitution.

He asked for an ‘urgent petition for the return of foreclosed property’ with the US District Court in Washington, D.C.

He noted that two of the agents who executed the search warrant while he was in New Jersey worked with the FBI’s field office in Washington, and calls on the matter were forwarded to the main Justice Department.

The Speech and Debate clause has long been used to protect legislators from prosecution or other remedies for what they say as agents and other parts of their mandate. their official service.

It says ‘For any Speech or Debate in both Houses [lawmakers] will not be questioned anywhere else. ‘ Perry says it allows him and the House’s attorneys to make their own decisions about what information is protected – rather than letting the government decide through its own review process.

Perry filed an urgent request to return his phone

Perry was subpoenaed by the House committee on January 6

The filing says employees took the phone while Perry was on vacation with his family, then returned the phone after forensic imaging, then returned it ‘while he was with his family.’

He also sought a temporary injunction to prevent the government from reviewing the data.

The seizure comes weeks after the House’s January 6 committee asked Perry to come in for a volunteer interview.

According to information released by the committee, Perry is advising key White House figures on Trump’s push for loyalist Jeffrey Clark to head the Justice Department during the final weeks of his administration.

He was also involved in efforts to require states to submit ‘fake’ voter lists, an issue believed to be part of the DOJ’s investigation into Trump’s attempt to overturn the election.